“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.”
General Orders, Number 3; Headquarters District of Texas, Galveston, June 19, 1865
Beyond the Quote (169/365)
When Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger issued the above order, he had no idea that, in establishing the Union Army’s authority over the people of Texas, he was also establishing the basis for a holiday, “Juneteenth” (“June” plus “nineteenth”), today the most popular annual celebration of emancipation from slavery in the United States.
Juneteenth was originally celebrated in Texas, on June 19, 1866. It marked the first anniversary of the day that African Americans in Texas first learned of the Emancipation Proclamation, more than two years after it was initially issued. Within a few years, African Americans were celebrating Juneteenth in other states, making it an annual tradition.
Sadly enough, this is a holiday that I am just becoming aware of after being alive for 30+ years in the United States. It’s not something I was ever formally taught in school and it isn’t a holiday that, for one reason or another, ever crossed paths with me in life. It finally reached my awareness this morning with an email petition that was sent by Opal Lee on Change.org to make Juneteenth a nationally celebrated holiday.
Opal Lee is force for change and at 93 years old, has been leading the charge to make sure Juneteenth finally gets the recognition it deserves. “I believe Juneteenth can be a unifier because it recognizes that slaves didn’t free themselves and that they had help, from Quakers along the Underground Railroad, abolitionists both black and white like Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison, soldiers and many others who gave their lives for the freedom of the enslaved,” she said on her petition page.
In an interview on ManRepeller she further explains, “What I’m seeing in the protests right now is that it’s not just black people or white people, it’s all kinds of people coming together. And this is what I dream for Juneteenth—that all kinds of people will come together, that we will celebrate freedom from the 19th of June to the 4th of July. If we put our collective stuff together, we can make this the greatest country on Earth.”
This is the kind of spirit that gives me hope. This is the type of action, initiative, and boldness that makes a difference. Amongst her many efforts, one of her most impressive feats was when she walked 1,400 miles from Fort Worth to Washington, DC. She did two and a half miles in the morning and two and a half in the evening, to signify that slaves didn’t know they were free for two and a half years after the emancipation. This is how you lead a movement.
For more information on the history of Juneteenth, I found this page on PBS to be helpful. To sign Opal Lee’s petition to make Juneteenth a national holiday you can click here. And if you, like me, are just becoming aware of Juneteenth, maybe take some time to investigate further and share some of your thoughts. Conversation is the oxygen of any movement. Let’s keep the momentum of the movement alive.
Read Next: 40 Empowering Quotes on Justice and How Silence Is As Bad As Injustice Itself
Don't Let the Motivation Stop There...!
Join our newsletter and get the BEST of what we post every week. Here's an example. Like? Sign up.
[amp-optin id=42297]