Juneteenth is a
federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of
enslaved African Americans. Deriving its name from combining "June" and "nineteenth", it is celebrated on the anniversary of
General Order No. 3, issued by
Major General Gordon Granger on June 19, 1865, proclaiming freedom for slaves in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
.
Originating in
Galveston
Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Ga ...
, Juneteenth has since been observed annually in various parts of the United States, often broadly celebrating
African-American culture. The day was first recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, when
President Joe Biden signed the
Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law after the efforts of Lula Briggs Galloway,
Opal Lee
Opal Lee (born October 7, 1926) is an American retired teacher, counselor, and activist in the movement to make Juneteenth a federally-recognized holiday. She is often described as the "grandmother of Juneteenth".
On June 17, 2021, President J ...
, and others.
Early celebrations date to 1866, at first involving church-centered community gatherings in Texas. They spread across
the South and became more commercialized in the 1920s and 1930s, often centering on a
food festival
A food festival is a festival, that uses food, often produce, as its central theme. These festivals have always been a means of uniting communities through celebrations of harvests and giving thanks for a plentiful growing season.
History
Food ...
. Participants in the
Great Migration brought these celebrations to the rest of the country. During the
Civil Rights Movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...
of the 1960s, these celebrations were eclipsed by the
nonviolent
Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
determination to achieve civil rights, but grew in popularity again in the 1970s with a focus on African American freedom and
African-American art
African-American art is a broad term describing visual art created by African Americans — Americans who also identify as Black. The range of art they have created, and are continuing to create, over more than two centuries is as varied as the ...
s. Beginning with Texas by proclamation in 1938, and by legislation in 1979, every
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
and the
District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
has formally recognized the holiday in some way. With its adoption in parts of
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, the holiday has become an international holiday. Juneteenth is celebrated by the
Mascogos, descendants of
Black Seminoles
The Black Seminoles, or Afro-Seminoles are Native American-Africans associated with the Seminole people in Florida and Oklahoma. They are mostly blood descendants of the Seminole people, free Africans, and escaped slaves, who allied with Seminole ...
who escaped from slavery in 1852 and settled in
Coahuila,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.
Celebratory traditions often include public readings of the
Emancipation Proclamation, singing traditional songs such as "
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "
Lift Every Voice and Sing
"Lift Every Voice and Sing" is a hymn with lyrics by James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938) and set to music by his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson (1873–1954). Written from the context of African Americans in the late 19th century, the hymn is a pray ...
", and the reading of works by noted
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
writers, such as
Ralph Ellison and
Maya Angelou. Juneteenth celebrations may also include
rodeos,
street fairs,
cookouts,
family reunion
A family reunion is an occasion when many members of an extended family congregate. Sometimes reunions are held regularly, for example on the same date of every year.
A typical family reunion will assemble for a meal, some recreation and discussi ...
s, parties,
historical reenactment
Historical reenactment (or re-enactment) is an educational or entertainment activity in which mainly amateur hobbyists and history enthusiasts dress in historic uniforms or costumes and follow a plan to recreate aspects of a historical event or ...
s, and Miss Juneteenth contests. In 2021, Juneteenth became the first new federal holiday since
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., and sometimes referred to as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed on the third Mond ...
was adopted in 1983.
Celebrations and traditions
The holiday is considered the "longest-running African-American holiday" and has been called "America's second Independence Day". Juneteenth is usually celebrated on the third Saturday in June. Historian Mitch Kachun considers that celebrations of the end of slavery have three goals: "to celebrate, to educate, and to agitate". Early celebrations consisted of
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
, fishing, and rodeos. African Americans were often prohibited from using public facilities for their celebrations, so they were often held at churches or near water. Celebrations were also characterized by elaborate large meals and people wearing their best clothing. It was common for former slaves and their descendants to make a
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
to Galveston. As early festivals received news coverage, Janice Hume and Noah Arceneaux consider that they "served to assimilate African-American memories within the dominant 'American story'".
Observance today is primarily in local celebrations.
In many places, Juneteenth has become a
multicultural
The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...
holiday. Traditions include public readings of the
Emancipation Proclamation, singing traditional songs such as "
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "
Lift Every Voice and Sing
"Lift Every Voice and Sing" is a hymn with lyrics by James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938) and set to music by his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson (1873–1954). Written from the context of African Americans in the late 19th century, the hymn is a pray ...
", and reading of works by noted
African-American writers
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
, such as
Ralph Ellison and
Maya Angelou.
[Taylor, 2002. pp. 28–29.] Celebrations include picnics,
rodeos, street fairs, cookouts,
family reunion
A family reunion is an occasion when many members of an extended family congregate. Sometimes reunions are held regularly, for example on the same date of every year.
A typical family reunion will assemble for a meal, some recreation and discussi ...
s, park parties,
historical reenactment
Historical reenactment (or re-enactment) is an educational or entertainment activity in which mainly amateur hobbyists and history enthusiasts dress in historic uniforms or costumes and follow a plan to recreate aspects of a historical event or ...
s,
blues festivals and Miss Juneteenth contests.
Red food and drinks are traditional during the celebrations, including
red velvet cake
Red velvet cake is traditionally a red, red-brown, crimson, or scarlet-colored layer cake, layered with ermine icing. Traditional recipes do not use food coloring, with the red color due to non- Dutched, anthocyanin-rich cocoa.
Common ingred ...
and
strawberry soda
The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus ''Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely app ...
, with red meant to represent resilience and joy.
The
Mascogos, the descendants of
Black Seminoles
The Black Seminoles, or Afro-Seminoles are Native American-Africans associated with the Seminole people in Florida and Oklahoma. They are mostly blood descendants of the Seminole people, free Africans, and escaped slaves, who allied with Seminole ...
who have resided in
Coahuila since 1852, also celebrate Juneteenth.
Juneteenth celebrations often include lectures and exhibitions on African-American culture. The modern holiday places much emphasis upon teaching about African-American heritage. Karen M. Thomas wrote in ''Emerge'' that "community leaders have latched on to
uneteenthto help instill a sense of heritage and pride in black youth". Celebrations are commonly accompanied by
voter registration efforts, the performing of plays, and retelling stories. The holiday is also a celebration of
soul food and other food with African-American influences. In ''Tourism Review International'', Anne Donovan and Karen DeBres write that "
Barbecue is the centerpiece of most Juneteenth celebrations".
History
President
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
issued the
Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, freeing the slaves in Texas and all the rebellious parts of Southern
secessionist
Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics l ...
states of
the Confederacy. Enforcement of the Proclamation generally relied upon the advance of Union troops. Texas, as the most remote state of the former Confederacy, had seen an expansion of slavery and had a low presence of Union troops as the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
ended; thus, enforcement there had been slow and inconsistent prior to Granger's order.
Although the Emancipation Proclamation declared an end to slavery in the Confederate States, it did not end slavery in states that remained in the Union. For a short while after the fall of the Confederacy, slavery remained legal in two of the
Union border statesDelaware and Kentucky. Those slaves were freed with the ratification of the
Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished
chattel slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
nationwide on December 6, 1865. The last slaves present in the continental United States were freed when those held by the
Choctaw, who had sided with the Confederacy, were released in 1866.
Early history
The Civil War and celebrations of emancipation
During the American Civil War (1861–1865), emancipation came at different times in different parts of the
Southern United States
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
. Large celebrations of emancipation, often called
Jubilee
A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...
s (recalling the biblical
Jubilee
A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...
, in which slaves were freed), took place on September 22, January 1, July 4, August 1, April 6, and November 1, among other dates. When emancipation finally came to
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, on June 19, 1865, as the southern rebellion collapsed, celebration was widespread. While that date did not actually mark the unequivocal end of slavery, even in Texas, and emancipation has been celebrated on other dates, June 19 came to be a day of shared commemoration across the United Statescreated, preserved, and spread by ordinary African Americansof slavery's wartime demise.
End of slavery in Texas
Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation in the midst of the Civil War on September 22, 1862, declaring that if the rebels did not end the fighting and rejoin the Union, all slaves in the Confederacy would be freed on the first day of the following year.
On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the final Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that all slaves in the Confederate States of America in rebellion and not in Union hands were freed.
More isolated geographically, planters and other slaveholders had migrated into Texas from eastern states to escape the fighting, and many brought slaves with them, increasing by the thousands the enslaved population in the state at the end of the Civil War.
Although most lived in rural areas, more than 1,000 resided in both
Galveston
Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Ga ...
and
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
by 1860, with several hundred in other large towns.
[Barr (1996), p. 24.] By 1865, there were an estimated 250,000 slaves in Texas.
Despite the surrender of Confederate General-in-Chief
Robert E. Lee at
Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, the western Confederate
Army of the Trans-Mississippi did not surrender until June 2.
On the morning of June 19, 1865,
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
Major General
Gordon Granger
Gordon Granger (November 6, 1821 – January 10, 1876) was a career U.S. Army officer and a Union general during the American Civil War, where he distinguished himself at the Battle of Chickamauga.
Granger is best remembered for his part in the ...
arrived on the island of Galveston
to take command of the more than 2,000 federal troops recently landed in the department of Texas to enforce the emancipation of its slaves and oversee
Reconstruction, nullifying all laws passed within Texas during the war by Confederate lawmakers.
The order informed all Texans that, in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves were free:
Longstanding urban legend places the historic reading of General Order No. 3 at
Ashton Villa; however, no extant historical evidence supports such claims. Although widely believed, it is unlikely that Granger or his troops proclaimed the Ordinance by reading it aloud: it is more likely that copies of the Ordinance were posted in public places, including the Negro Church on Broadway, since renamed
Reedy Chapel A.M.E. Church.
On June 21, 2014, the Galveston Historical Foundation and
Texas Historical Commission erected a Juneteenth plaque where the Osterman Building once stood signifying the location of Major General Granger's Union Headquarters and subsequent issuance of his general orders.
Although this event has come to be celebrated as the end of slavery, emancipation for the remaining enslaved in two Union
border states (Delaware and Kentucky), would not come until several months later, on December 18, 1865, when the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified. The freedom of former slaves in Texas was given state law status in a series of
Texas Supreme Court decisions between 1868 and 1874.
Early Juneteenth celebrations
Former slaves in Galveston rejoiced after General Order No. 3.
One year later, on June 19, 1866,
freedmen in Texas organized the first of what became annual commemorations of "Jubilee Day".
Early celebrations were used as political rallies to give voting instructions to newly freed African Americans.
Other independence observances occurred on January 1 or 4.
In some cities, black people were barred from using public parks because of state-sponsored
segregation Segregation may refer to:
Separation of people
* Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space
* School segregation
* Housing segregation
* Racial segregation, separation of humans ...
of facilities. Across parts of Texas, freed people pooled their funds to purchase land to hold their celebrations.
The day was first celebrated in Austin in 1867 under the auspices of the
Freedmen's Bureau, and it had been listed on a "calendar of public events" by 1872. That year, black leaders in Texas raised $1,000 for the purchase of of land, today known as Houston's
Emancipation Park, to celebrate Juneteenth. The observation was soon drawing thousands of attendees across Texas; in
Limestone County, an estimated 30,000 black people celebrated at Booker T. Washington Park, established in 1898 for Juneteenth celebrations. The Black community began using the word ''Juneteenth'' for Jubilee Day early in the 1890s.
''The Current Issue'', a Texas periodical, used the word as early as 1909, and that year a book on
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
remarked, with condescension, on "June 'teenth'".
Decline during Jim Crow
In the early 20th century, economic and political forces led to a decline in Juneteenth celebrations. From 1890 to 1908, Texas and all former Confederate states passed new constitutions or amendments that effectively
disenfranchised black people, excluding them from the political process. White-dominated state legislatures passed
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...
imposing second-class status.
Gladys L. Knight writes the decline in celebration was in part because "upwardly mobile blacks ... were ashamed of their slave past and aspired to
assimilate into mainstream culture. Younger generations of blacks, becoming further removed from slavery were occupied with school ... and other pursuits." Others who migrated to the
Northern United States could not take time off or simply dropped the celebration.
The
Great Depression forced many black people off farms and into the cities to find work, where they had difficulty taking the day off to celebrate. From 1936 to 1951, the
Texas State Fair
The State Fair of Texas is an annual state fair held in Dallas at historic Fair Park. The fair has taken place every year since 1886 except for varying periods during World War I and World War II as well as 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It ...
served as a destination for celebrating the holiday, contributing to its revival. In 1936, an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people joined the holiday's celebration in Dallas. In 1938, Governor of Texas
James V. Allred
James Burr V AllredThe "V" was a name, not an initial. (March 29, 1899 – September 24, 1959) was the 33rd governor of Texas. He later served, twice, as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern Distri ...
issued a proclamation stating in part:
Seventy thousand people attended a "Juneteenth Jamboree" in 1951.
From 1940 through 1970, in the second wave of the
Great Migration, more than five million black people left Texas, Louisiana and other parts of the South for the North and the West Coast. As historian
Isabel Wilkerson writes, "The people from Texas took Juneteenth Day to Los Angeles,
Oakland,
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, and other places they went." In 1945, Juneteenth was introduced in San Francisco by a migrant from Texas, Wesley Johnson.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the
Civil Rights Movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...
focused the attention of African Americans on expanding freedom and integrating. As a result, observations of the holiday declined again, though it was still celebrated in Texas.
Revival
1960s–1980s
Juneteenth soon saw a revival as black people began tying their struggle to that of ending slavery. In
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, some campaigners for equality wore Juneteenth buttons. During the 1968
Poor People's Campaign to
Washington, DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
, called by Rev.
Ralph Abernathy, the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an African-American civil rights organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. SCLC is closely associated with its first president, Martin Luther King Jr., who had a large role in the American civ ...
made June 19 the "Solidarity Day of the Poor People’s Campaign".
In the subsequent revival, large celebrations in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
and
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
emerged, as well as across the Eastern United States.
In 1974, Houston began holding large-scale celebrations again,
and
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...
, followed the next year. Around 30,000 people attended festivities at Sycamore Park in Fort Worth the following year.
The 1978 Milwaukee celebration was described as drawing over 100,000 attendees.
In 1979, the Texas Legislature made the occasion a state holiday.
[Hochman, David (June/July 2022). "The History of Juneteenth". '' AARP: The Magazine''. p. 70.] In the late 1980s, there were major celebrations of Juneteenth in California, Wisconsin, Illinois, Georgia, and Washington, D.C.
Prayer breakfast and commemorative celebrations
In 1979, Democratic State Representative
Al Edwards of Houston successfully sponsored legislation to make Juneteenth a paid Texas state holiday. The same year, he hosted the inaugural Al Edwards prayer breakfast and commemorative celebration on the grounds of the 1859 home, Ashton Villa. As one of the few existing buildings from the Civil War era and popular in local myth and legend as the location of Major General Granger’s order, Edwards's annual celebration includes a local historian dressed as the Union general reading General Order No. 3 from the second story balcony of the home. The Emancipation Proclamation is also read and speeches are made. Representative Al Edwards died of natural causes April 29, 2020, at the age of 83, but the annual prayer breakfast and commemorative celebration continued at Ashton Villa, with the late legislator's son Jason Edwards speaking in his father’s place.
Official statewide recognitions
In the late 1970s, when the
Texas Legislature
The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ar ...
declared Juneteenth a "holiday of significance ... particularly to the blacks of Texas," it became the first state to establish Juneteenth as a state holiday. The bill passed through the Texas Legislature in 1979 and was officially made a state holiday on January 1, 1980. Before 2000, three more
U.S. states officially observed the day, and over the next two decades it was recognized as an official observance in all states, except
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...
, until becoming a federal holiday.
Juneteenth in pop culture and mass media
Since the 1980s and 1990s, the holiday has been more widely celebrated among African-American communities and has seen increasing mainstream attention in the US.
In 1991, there was an exhibition by the
Anacostia Community Museum
The Anacostia Community Museum (known colloquially as the ACM) is a community museum in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is one of twenty museums under the umbrella of the Smithsonian Institution and was th ...
(part of the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
) called "Juneteenth '91, Freedom Revisited." In 1994, a group of community leaders gathered at Christian Unity Baptist Church in
to work for greater national celebration of Juneteenth.
Expatriates have celebrated it in cities abroad, such as Paris.
Some US military bases in other countries sponsor celebrations, in addition to those of private groups.
In 1999,
Ralph Ellison's novel ''
Juneteenth
Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Deriving its name from combining "June" and "nineteenth", it is celebrated on the anniversary of General Order No. 3, i ...
'' was published, increasing recognition of the holiday. By 2006, at least 200 cities celebrated the day.
In 1997, activist
Ben Haith created the
Juneteenth flag, which was further refined by illustrator
Lisa Jeanne Graf. In 2000, the flag was first hoisted at the
Roxbury Heritage State Park in Boston by Haith. The star at the center represents Texas and the extension of freedom for all African Americans throughout the whole nation. The burst around the star represents a
nova and the red curve represents a horizon, standing for a new era for African Americans. The red, white, and blue colors represent the American flag, which shows that African Americans and their enslaved ancestors are Americans, and the national belief in liberty and justice for all citizens.
The holiday gained mainstream awareness outside African-American communities through depictions in entertainment media, such as episodes of TV series ''
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
'' (2016) and ''
Black-ish
''Black-ish'' (stylized as black·''ish'', `black·''ish'', and black''ish'') is an American sitcom television series created by Kenya Barris. It aired on ABC from September 24, 2014, to April 19, 2022, running for eight seasons. ''Black-ish'' ...
'' (2017), the latter of which featured musical numbers about the holiday by
Aloe Blacc,
The Roots, and
Fonzworth Bentley
Derek Watkins (born February 13, 1974), known professionally as Fonzworth Bentley, is an American rapper, actor, television presenter, and author. He is perhaps best known for being Sean Combs' former personal valet and assistant, as first see ...
. In 2018,
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
added Juneteenth to its calendars in
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
under official U.S. holidays. Some private companies have adopted Juneteenth as a paid day off for employees, while others have officially marked the day in other ways, such as a
moment of silence
A moment of silence (also referred to as a minute's silence or a one-minute silence) is a period of silent contemplation, prayer, reflection, or meditation. Similar to flying a flag at half-mast, a moment of silence is often a gesture of ...
. In 2020, several American corporations and educational institutions, including
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
,
Nike
Nike often refers to:
* Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory
* Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment
Nike may also refer to:
People
* Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...
, began treating Juneteenth as a company holiday, providing a paid day off to their workers, and
Google Calendar
Google Calendar is a time-management and scheduling calendar service developed by Google. It became available in beta release April 13, 2006, and in general release in July 2009, on the web and as mobile apps for the Android and iOS platforms.
...
added Juneteenth to its U.S. Holidays calendar. Also in 2020, a number of major universities formally recognized Juneteenth,
either as a "day of reflection" or as a university holiday with paid time off for faculty and staff.
The 2020 mother-daughter film on the holiday's pageant culture, ''
Miss Juneteenth
''Miss Juneteenth'' is a 2020 American drama film written and directed by Channing Godfrey Peoples and starring Nicole Beharie, Kendrick Sampson, and Alexis Chikaeze. The plot follows a single mom and former teen beauty queen who enters her da ...
'', celebrates African-American women who are "determined to stand on their own," while a resourceful mother is "getting past a sexist tendency in her community to keep women in their place."
Becoming a federal holiday
In 1996, the first federal legislation to recognize "Juneteenth Independence Day" was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, H.J. Res. 195, sponsored by
Barbara-Rose Collins
Barbara-Rose Collins (née Richardson; April 13, 1939 – November 4, 2021) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Michigan and the first black woman from Michigan to be elected to Congress.
Life and career
Collins was born as Barba ...
(D-MI). In 1997, Congress recognized the day through Senate Joint Resolution 11 and House Joint Resolution 56. In 2013, the U.S. Senate passed Senate Resolution 175, acknowledging Lula Briggs Galloway (late president of the National Association of Juneteenth Lineage), who "successfully worked to bring national recognition to Juneteenth Independence Day", and the continued leadership of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation.
In the 2000s and 2010s, activists continued a long process to push Congress towards official recognition of Juneteenth. Organizations such as the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation sought a Congressional designation of Juneteenth as a national day of observance.
By 2016, 45 states were recognizing the occasion.
[ That year, ]Opal Lee
Opal Lee (born October 7, 1926) is an American retired teacher, counselor, and activist in the movement to make Juneteenth a federally-recognized holiday. She is often described as the "grandmother of Juneteenth".
On June 17, 2021, President J ...
, often referred to as the "grandmother of Juneteenth", began a walk from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington D.C. to advocate for a federal holiday,[ When it was officially made a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, it became one of five date-specific federal holidays along with New Year's Day (January 1), Independence Day (July 4), Veterans Day (November 11), and Christmas Day (December 25). Juneteenth will coincide with ]Father's Day
Father's Day is a holiday of honoring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on 19 March as Saint Joseph's Day since the Middle Ages. In the Unite ...
in 2033, 2039, 2044, and 2050. Juneteenth is the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., and sometimes referred to as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed on the third Mond ...
was declared a holiday in 1986. Juneteenth also falls within the statutory Honor America Days period, which lasts for 21 days from Flag Day (June 14) to Independence Day (July 4).
Legal observance
State and local
Texas was the first state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
to recognize the date by enacted law, in 1980. By 2002, eight states officially recognized Juneteenth and four years later 15 states recognized the holiday. By 2008, just over half of the states recognized Juneteenth in some way. By 2019, 47 states and the District of Columbia recognized Juneteenth, although as of 2020 only Texas had adopted the holiday as a paid holiday for state employees.
In June 2019, Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Wolf recognized Juneteenth as a holiday in the state. In the yearlong aftermath of the murder of George Floyd
On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's ...
that occurred on May 25, 2020, nine states designated Juneteenth a paid holiday, including New York, Washington, and Virginia. In 2020, Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
Governor Charlie Baker
Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 72nd governor of Massachusetts since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Baker was a cabinet official under two governors of Massach ...
issued a proclamation that the day would be marked as "Juneteenth Independence Day". This followed the filing of bills by both the House and Senate to make Juneteenth a state holiday. Baker did not comment on these bills specifically, but promised to grant the observance of Juneteenth greater importance. On June 16, 2021, Illinois adopted a law changing its ceremonial holiday to a paid state holiday.
Some cities and counties have also recognized Juneteenth through proclamation. In 2020, Juneteenth was formally recognized by New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
(as an annual official city holiday and public school holiday, starting in 2021). Cook County, Illinois, adopted an ordinance to make Juneteenth a paid county holiday. The City and County of Honolulu
Honolulu County (officially known as the City and County of Honolulu, formerly Oahu County) is a consolidated city–county in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The city–county includes both the city of Honolulu (the state's capital and largest cit ...
recognizes it as an "annual day of honor and reflection", and Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
(as a day of remembrance and action and a paid holiday for city employees).
North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...
approved recognition of Juneteenth as a state recognized annual holiday on April 13, 2021, with Hawaii becoming the 49th state to recognize the holiday on June 16, 2021. On June 16, 2020 South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem
Kristi Lynn Noem (; née Arnold; born November 30, 1971) is an American politician serving as the 33rd governor of South Dakota since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she was the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2019 and a member ...
proclaimed that the following June 19, 2020 was to be Juneteenth Day for that year only, spurning calls for it to be recognized annually, rather than just for 2020. In February 2022, South Dakota became the last state to recognize Juneteenth as an annual state holiday or observance. Its law provided for following the federal law even before it was official. On May 2, 2022, Colorado Governor Jared Polis
Jared Schutz Polis (; born May 12, 1975) is an American politician, entrepreneur, businessman, and philanthropist, serving as the 43rd governor of Colorado since January 2019. He served one term on the Colorado State Board of Education from 20 ...
signed a bill changing the state's ceremonial observance to a state holiday and it is now the 11th state holiday in Colorado. As of July 1, 2022, 21 states and the District of Columbia have made Juneteenth a paid state holiday, with the remainder maintaining a ceremonial observance.[
]
National
Juneteenth is a federal holiday
Federal holidays in the United States are the eleven calendar dates that are designated by the U.S. government as holidays. On U.S. federal holidays, non-essential federal government offices are closed and federal government employees are paid ...
in the United States. For decades, activists and congress members (led by many African Americans) proposed legislation, advocated for, and built support for state and national observances. During his campaign for president in June 2020, Joe Biden publicly celebrated the holiday. President Donald Trump, during his campaign for reelection, added making the day a national holiday part of his " Platinum Plan for Black America". Spurred on by the advocates and the Congressional Black Caucus
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021; she was succeeded by Representative Joyce B ...
, on June 15, 2021, the Senate unanimously passed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday; it subsequently passed through the House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
by a 415–14 vote on June 16. President Joe Biden signed the bill () on June 17, 2021, making Juneteenth the eleventh American federal holiday and the first to obtain legal observance as a federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., and sometimes referred to as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed on the third Mond ...
was designated in 1983. According to the bill, federal government employees will now get to take the day off every year on June 19, or should the date fall on a Saturday or Sunday, they will get the Friday or Monday closest to the Saturday or Sunday on which the date falls respectively.
See also
* Emancipation Day
* Emancipation Proclamation
* History of African Americans in Texas
African American Texans or Black Texans are residents of the state of Texas who are of African ancestry and people that have origins as African-American slaves. African Americans formed a unique ethnic identity in Texas while facing the pro ...
* Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day ( colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United Sta ...
* Juneteenth flag
* Negro Election Day
* ''Miss Juneteenth
''Miss Juneteenth'' is a 2020 American drama film written and directed by Channing Godfrey Peoples and starring Nicole Beharie, Kendrick Sampson, and Alexis Chikaeze. The plot follows a single mom and former teen beauty queen who enters her da ...
''
* Public holidays in the United States
The schedule of public holidays in the United States is largely influenced by the schedule of federal holidays but is controlled by private sector employers who provide 62% of the total U.S. population with paid time off.
Public holidays with ...
* Serfs' Emancipation Day
* Slavery in the United States
The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States of America from its founding in 1776 until 1865, predominantly in the South. Sl ...
* Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Thirteenth Amendment (Amendment XIII) to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. The amendment was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, by the House of Representative ...
* " What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?"
Explanatory notes
Citations
General and cited references
*
* Blanck, Emily. "Galveston on San Francisco Bay: Juneteenth in the Fillmore District, 1945–2016." ''Western Historical Quarterly'' 50.2 (2019): 85–112
Galveston on San Francisco Bay: Juneteenth in the Fillmore District, 1945–2016
* Cromartie, J. Vern. "Freedom Came at Different Times: A Comparative Analysis of Emancipation Day and Juneteenth Celebrations." ''NAAAS Conference Proceedings. National Association of African American Studies,'' (2014
online
* Donovan, Anne, and Karen De Bres. "Foods of freedom: Juneteenth as a culinary tourist attraction." ''Tourism Review International'' 9.4 (2006): 379–389
link
* Gordon-Reed, Annette (2021). ''On Juneteenth'', New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation. .
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Turner, E. H. "Juneteenth: The Evolution of an Emancipation Celebration." ''European Contributions to American Studies.'' 65 (2006): 69–81.
* Wiggins Jr, William H. "They Closed the Town Up, Man! Reflections on the Civic and Political Dimensions of Juneteenth." in ''Celebration: Studies in Festivity and Ritual'', ed. Victor Turner (1982): 284–295.
*
*
Further reading
*
External links
Jennifer Schuessler, "Liberation as Death Sentence"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', June 11, 2012
Berkeley Juneteenth Festival
2014 celebration
Juneteenth: Fact Sheet
Congressional Research Service
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a ...
(updated July 1, 2022)
Juneteenth in United States
Juneteenth World Wide Celebration
website for 150th anniversary celebration
Juneteenth Historical Marker
Juneteenth historical marker at 2201 Strand, Galveston, TX 77550
2022 Holidays
United States Office of Personal Management
{{Authority control
1866 establishments in Texas
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Articles containing video clips
Culture of Galveston, Texas
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