How, you might ask, can you take an ugly history and make it something beautiful? Juneteenth has the right idea—acknowledge the past, don’t try to explain it away, and celebrate that we’re in a better (albeit far from perfect) place. But what exactly is Juneteenth? Here’s a good starting point.
The Quick Answer
As promised in the title, I’ll start with the bottom line.
Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States that commemorates the end of slavery. A portmanteau of June and nineteenth, the occasion references June 19, 1865, the day when slaves in Galveston, Texas, were notified by Union soldiers that the American Civil War had ended and that slavery had been abolished.
Other names for the occasion include Juneteenth National Independence Day (this is the official one), Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, and Black Independence Day.
If you’re interested, here’s a bit more detail…
A Little Extra
On January 1, 1863, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring freedom for slaves in the Confederate States—those states that had seceded from the United States in the name of economic self-determination, a concept intimately tied to the slavery that upheld their agricultural economy. Interestingly, the proclamation did not affect border states—slave states that had stayed in the Union—for fear of provoking their secession.
Regardless, the ability to enforce the declaration was severely limited, and over two more years of war would be required to finally achieve Confederate surrender on April 9, 1865.
If you’re paying attention to dates, you see that they don’t exactly align. Why? Because it took another couple months for news of the surrender—and the ability to enforce the implications of the surrender—to reach the aforementioned Galveston, Texas.
(Even then, slavery wasn’t officially abolished until December 6, 1865, when the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified. And, as you know, this wasn’t some sort of Hollywood ending, as conditions for freed slaves—when their owners finally conceded to the new legal reality—were not optimal, prompting migration to other parts of the country.)
But I digress. Getting back to Juneteenth, the first celebration took place in Texas in 1866, commemorating the one-year anniversary of the news of liberation. As Black Americans migrated, they took the celebration with them, including a range of activities such as prayer, speeches, cookouts, parades, festivals, etc.
While the prominence of celebrations waxed and waned over the years, by 1980, Texas had made Juneteenth a state holiday. Other states would follow suit, taking steps to recognize the occasion in a multitude of ways.
In 2021, in the wake of several high-profile Black American deaths at the hands of law enforcement, US Congress made Juneteenth a federal holiday, the first new federal holiday since the addition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.
The Soundtrack
Ultimately, Juneteenth celebrates something priceless—the gift of freedom. Here are four great songs—some happy and some not so much—that reference that gift in one way or another.
“Freedom! ’90” by George Michael
Honestly, I don’t totally know what this song is about, but it mentions freedom and will probably make you feel good.
“Freedom” by Pharrell Williams
In this infectious tune, Pharrell takes a global look at the concepts of diversity and immigration, linking them to the simple idea of freedom.
“Freedom” by Rage Against The Machine
Rage, as their name might indicate, never lets you down if you’re looking to express a little anger at the plight of the oppressed. This jam references the Native American story, but feel free to extrapolate.
“Freedom” by Beyoncé featuring Kendrick Lamar
And finally, the one by Queen Bey herself, who, in collaboration with the poetic genius Kendrick Lamar, captures the Black American experience in one powerful song. Freedom, as the pair points out, is a journey that has yet to reach its final destination.
And on that note, Happy Juneteenth!
2 Responses
Freedom is to the soul as the air we breathe, water we drink and food we eat is to the body. Happy Juneteenth!
Well said! Happy Juneteenth!