Juneteenth!

On the morning of June 19, 1865, the residents of Galveston, Texas awoke to discover the streets filled with soldiers wearing blue uniforms. The Union Army had arrived in force. A crowd quickly gathered as men and women, blacks and whites, rushed from their homes to learn what was happening. When Major General Gordon Granger rose and called for silence, black and white faces looked up at him questioningly. Granger then read General Order #3. "The people of Texas," he began in a loud voice so that all could hear, "The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive [President] of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property. . . ." The Civil War was over. The Union had been saved. The slaves at last had won their liberty.

The blacks in Galveston had never heard of the Emancipation Proclamation, which Abraham Lincoln had issued in 1862. The Emancipation Proclamation declared that as of January 1, 1863, all slaves living in states still in rebellion were "then, thenceforward, and forever free." Various folk legends passed down from generation to generation of African-Americans attempted to explain why the slaves in Texas had never heard of the Emancipation Proclamation. One story told of a messenger murdered on his way to deliver the news. Another suggested that the masters withheld the information in order to maintain their work force on the plantations or that federal troops waited until the slaves had harvested the cotton before revealing that they were free. The fact remains, however, that without the presence of Union troops to enforce the Proclamation, it would have had little impact on the lives of the slaves even should they have known of it.

When blacks did at last learn of their freedom after nearly two-and-one-half centuries of bondage, their reactions ranged from shock to disbelief to jubilation. Many immediately left the plantations on which they had been enslaved to make new lives for themselves and their families. At the same time, though, they realized that it was important to remember that June 19th, was a special day of celebration and thanksgiving-the day when they learned that they were free men and women.

An African-American holiday, known as "Juneteenth," soon grew from the efforts of former slaves to mark the moment of their emancipation. African Americans began celebrating "Juneteenth" as early as 1866. It was especially popular in Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, California and, of course, Texas. The festivities offered African-American communities an opportunity to join together to reflect, remember, and rejoice.

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