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Juneteenth 2008

By Carmen D. on Thursday, June 19th, 2008, 12:28 am Comments

On June 19, 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas with news that the Civil War had ended and those who had been slaves were now free. There are a number of accounts as to why freedom took so long to arrive in Texas:

Later attempts to explain this two and a half year delay in the receipt of this important news have yielded several versions that have been handed down through the years. Often told is the story of a messenger who was murdered on his way to Texas with the news of freedom. Another is that the news was deliberately withheld by the enslavers to maintain the labor force on the plantations. And still another is that federal troops actually waited for the slave owners to reap the benefits of one last cotton harvest before going to Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. All or none of them could be true. History of Juneteenth, Juneteenth.com

Whatever the reason, the result was that free people were still enslaved past the moment when slavery was abolished. In honor of the jubilation the ancestors must have felt on this day, I have released my imagination from the bonds of reality for a moment and I will share a fantasy with you. My fantasy is that I have arms long enough and strong enough to wrap around all the poor, disenfranchised and hopeless young people in our country. I draw them close and whisper in each anxious ear “You are free.” I tell them “There is no limit to your power, if you claim it.” Resilience and determination will get you where you need to go. No other human being can define you. If you will set your mind, all things are possible. Turn away from television. Turn away from those who judge, criticize and hurt you; telling you, “you cannot succeed.” Then, I would draw them even closer, whispering still, and remind them of the love and strength sent to them by those who slaved in the fields, laid railroad tracks, dug coal and fought in wars to build this country. I would whisper to the young ones “You are here to claim the piece of the American dream that the ancestors dreamed for you.”

I wrote this post for Juneteenth last year. It still feels just right. But I also wrote a fresh post for AOL BlackVoices/BlackSpin.

The Afrospear Celebrates Juneteenth today! Please take a moment to read these wonderful posts.

Black Perspective – D.Yobachi Boswell

Dallas South Blog – Shawn P. Williams

Eddie Griffin’s Blog

Electronic Village – Wayne Hicks

Fort Wayne African-American Independent Woman

The Jose Vilson

MartyBlogs

Problem Chylde: In her solitude – M/Sylvia

Punkin Patch – Kim

There…already – DP

Ultraviolet Underground – Purple Zoe

Slant Truth – Kevin

What Tami Said

AND check out this post from blogamigo XP over at XicanoPower.

  • Juneteenth is America’s 2nd Independence Day celebration. Americans of African descent were trapped in the tyranny of enslavement on the country's first "4th of July", 1776, Independence Day. We honor our ancestors, Americans of African descent, who heard the news of freedom and celebrated with great joy and jubilation, on the "19th of June", Juneteenth, 1865.

    It took over 88 years for the news of freedom to be announced in Southwest Texas, over two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Lincoln.

    The National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign has worked diligently for several years to establish legislation in 29 states to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday or state holiday observance, the District of Columbia, as well as the Congress of the United States. This has been a great accomplishment for the "Modern Juneteenth Movement" in America, reaching far beyond the establishment of Juneteenth as a state holiday in the place were it all began, in Texas, first celebrated in 1980.

    Together we will see Juneteenth become a National Holiday in America!

    “DOC”
    Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D.
    Chairman
    National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign
    National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF)
    National Juneteenth Christian Leadership Council (NJCLC)
    www.Juneteenth.us
    www.19thofJune.com
    www.njclc.com
    www.JuneteenthJazz.com
  • sadea henderson
    Our history is very important. Thanks for both reminding and teaching us. The sad thing is some people still don't hold their head up or speak up in equality. As opportunity opens the door we must not view it from the backside but walk through it to grow and make a difference for the generations that follow. We owe this to our ancestors.think of the pressure that comes out of a charged fire hydrant hose pushing ancestors skin, knocking them down to the unpaved road gravel just so we could go to a poll to vote..... we must stand on that freedom
    Appreciative greatly in Portsmouth,VA
  • Great post. Thanks for sharing the history. For anyone who's interested, there's a really good article, Juneteenth: A Day of Dignity, Equality and Reflection at http://www.diversityinc.com/public/3676.cfm
  • Peace Carmen *_^

    Much respect on the Juneteenth post. Again thankyou to you and Jose for inspiring it.

    Shine on
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~*
  • pteranodon
    As you undoubtably know, the Emancipation Proclamation (effective Jan 1, 1863)freed very few slaves until the war ended (April 1865)since it only applied to parts of the Confederacy over which the Union had no control. In fact, Lincoln guaranteed slavery in Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia. Further the Emancipation Proclamation left slaves enslaved in any part of the Confederacey that the Union had captured and controlled at the date of its issue. This included Tennessee and parts of Virginia and Louisiana. The proclamation was only enforced when Union troops occupied the rest of the Confederacy (note that even after the war, Missouri, et al, kept their slaves until the 13th Amendment was ratified). So it isn't really surprising that it took 2 1/2 years for Texas slaves to be free since it took 2 1/3 years for the Union to win the war.
  • That is a high compliment XP, thank you. In solidarity indeed.
  • XP
    Happy Juneteenth!! That was a great post, it brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for including me on that list. In solidarity, I will update my post to include that list.
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