WeRISE is hosting a community event honoring Juneteenth at The Point at Otterbein University (60 Collegeview Rd.) on Sunday, June 23 from 12-5 p.m. Visit the WeRISE website to learn more.

In 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law a bill making June 19, known as “Juneteenth,” a federal holiday. The announcement was an important step forward in officially recognizing a date that has long held significance in American history. 

Juneteenth (combining the words “June” and “nineteenth”) commemorates June 19, 1865, the day that enslaved people in Galveston, Texas learned of their freedom. If you’re familiar with this time in U.S. history, you might have noticed a gap in the timeline. 

President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, a military measure,  on Jan. 1, 1863, declaring that “...all persons held as slaves within any State of designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.”

It’s important to note that the Emancipation Proclamation specifically freed enslaved people in Confederate states and territories not controlled by the Union and left untouched the practice of slavery in border states loyal to the Union. It also authorized the acceptance of African American men for military service. (The 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery throughout the United States, was ratified in December 1865.)

At the time of the Emancipation Proclamation, the country was still deeply entrenched in the Civil War and Southern secessionist states did not recognize the measure.

As one can imagine, such news traveled slowly throughout the southern states. With few Union troops in Texas to enforce the proclamation, many African Americans remained in forced service despite being legally free. That is, until June 19, 1865, when Union Major-General Gordon Granger addressed the people of Galveston with General Order No. 3 which declared to the people of Texas 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.”

What follows is not a storybook ending. Many plantation owners resisted and refused to comply with the order. Additional protections and equality under the law for Black Americans would come incrementally in the decades that followed. 

As work continues, the recognition of Juneteenth as a federal holiday stands as a significant date on the timeline. 

One of the greatest aspects of Juneteenth is the multiplicity of meanings it has to different people and the way in which individuals choose to observe the holiday. Historically, Juneteenth was seen as a day of celebration in the form of family gatherings, fairs and festivals. More recently, Juneteenth has also been seen as a time to politically organize and address concerns within neighborhoods, cities and states. A time to become politically active, whether it’s having a town hall or finding elected officials and having a conversation with them about what needs to be addressed in the African American community. Financial and business sector empowerment have also emerged as focal points of contemporary Juneteenth celebrations.

One of the greatest aspects of Juneteenth is the multiplicity of meanings it has to different people and the way in which individuals choose to observe the holiday. Historically, Juneteenth was seen as a day of celebration in the form of family gatherings, fairs and festivals. More recently, Juneteenth has also been seen as a time to politically organize and address concerns within neighborhoods, cities and states. A time to become politically active, whether it’s having a town hall or finding elected officials and having a conversation with them about what needs to be addressed in the African American community. Financial and business sector empowerment have also emerged as focal points of contemporary Juneteenth celebrations.