The Real History Behind Juneteenth
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If you ask most people what Juneteenth means to them, they’ll probably say it was the day the slaves were freed, but that is only half of the truth.
Before The Emancipation Proclamation
In the weeks before the signing of the emancipation proclamation there were over 4 million enslaved Americans. While the U.S. was facing its 3rd year in the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln created a Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln declared that all slaves would be “forever” free on January 1, 1863, unless the Confederate states returned to the Union.
Since they did not return to the Union, on New Year’s Day Abraham Lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation declaring all slaves free.
The proclamation was only as good as the Union army’s enforcement of it (and didn’t pertain to slaves in the Union border states of Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland and Missouri), meaning slavery ended in a region when the army occupied the territory.
Sadly this did not immediately end slavery, As well as the fact that many were unaware that they had even been freed. For those who were aware of their new status it wasn’t easy to leave, many people were killed or lynched for trying to escape.
Now free, the formerly enslaved had no wealth, no property and few places to turn. The best solution for many was staying where they were, working for former slave owners and fighting to ensure they would now get paid in a new arrangement of employer and hired labor.
An estimated 200,000 former enslaved males went to fight for the Union. They were previously barred from fighting in the military due to the U.S Militia Act of 1792 restricting enrollment to every “free able-bodied white male citizen” between the ages of 18 and 45. By the end of the Civil War they accounted for around 10% of the Union army. Fulfilling most of the not combative roles like cooks, surgeons, pilots among other positions. Women who were not formally allowed to fight in the war became nurses and spies.
Bringing the News to Texas
On June 19, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, who had fought for the Union, led a force of soldiers to Galveston, Texas, to deliver a very important message: The war was finally over, the Union had won, and it now had the manpower to enforce the end of slavery.
General Orders No. 3 stated “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.”
This was 30 months after the emancipation proclamation act was put in effect.
In the weeks after June 19, many formerly enslaved people left Texas in great numbers to find family members and make their way in the postbellum United States. This period was known as The Scatter.
Juneteenth in Modern Day
After they were freed, some former slaves and their descendants would travel to Galveston annually in honor of Juneteenth. That tradition soon spread to other states, but it wasn’t uncommon for white people to bar Black people from celebrating in public spaces, forcing Black people to get creative.
In one such case, Black community leaders in Houston saved $1,000 to purchase land in 1872 that would be devoted specifically to Juneteenth celebrations, according to the Houston Parks and Recreation Department. That land became Emancipation Park, a name that it still bears.
In 1979, Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth an official holiday. Several others followed suit many years later.
On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, which officially made Juneteenth a federal holiday.
Today Juneteenth traditions include public readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, singing traditional songs, and reading of works by noted African American writers.
Celebrations can also take the form of rodeos, street fairs, cookouts, family reunions, park parties, historical reenactments, and Miss Juneteenth contests.
