A New Celebration of Freedom: The History of Juneteenth

We all know that Abraham Lincoln’s iconic Emancipation Proclamation marked a turning point not just in the Civil War but in our country’s history. However, many enslaved African Americans did not receive word of Lincoln’s address or the freedom it granted them for years. The United States’ most recent holiday – Juneteenth – commemorates the day the last enslaved African Americans learned of their freedom.

Emancipation for Whom?

Although Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which he delivered on January 1, 1863, declared “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states “are, and henceforward shall be free,” this freedom was actually limited. It applied only to states that had seceded from the Union and exempted parts of the Confederacy which had already come under Northern control. Furthermore, the freedom it promised depended upon Union military victory in the Confederate states.

Freedom Comes to Texas

Therefore, more than two years would pass before news of their freedom reached enslaved African Americans living in Texas, the westernmost Confederate state. On June 19, 1865, the state’s residents finally learned that slavery had been abolished when Union Major General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston and issued General Order No. 3, proclaiming: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.” The more than 250,000 formerly-enslaved people in Texas immediately began to celebrate with prayer, feasting, song, and dance.

A Holiday is Born

The following year, freed slaves in Texas organized the first of what became the annual celebration of “Jubilee Day” on June 19, marking the first official celebrations of “Juneteenth,” (short for “June Nineteenth”). Early observances included prayer meetings and the singing of spirituals, and celebrants wore new clothes as a way of representing their newfound freedom.

Within a few years, African Americans in other states were celebrating the day as well, making it an annual tradition. These events typically included prayer services, inspirational speeches, reading of the Emancipation Proclamation, music, and communal meals. The color red, now a hallmark of Juneteenth festivities, quickly became associated with the day as a symbol of the blood shed in the fight for freedom. Foods such as red velvet cake, strawberry soda, and barbecue became staples of the holiday.

During the early twentieth-century Great Migration, when millions of African Americans left the South in search of opportunities in northern and western cities, they carried the tradition of Juneteenth with them. Though they did not always celebrate it as publicly or widely as previously, the day remained important for families and communities.

In the 1960s and ’70s, during the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, Juneteenth saw a resurgence, as activists and community leaders viewed the holiday as a way to emphasize African American resilience. The civil rights leader Reverend Ralph Abernathy included a Juneteenth observance in the Poor People’s March on Washington in 1968.

It’s Official!

Texas became the first state to officially recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday in 1980, thanks largely to the efforts of Al Edwards, an African American state legislator who pushed for its formal recognition. In the years afterward, more states followed suit.

For decades, advocates had lobbied for federal recognition of Juneteenth. Finally, in June 2021, Congress passed a resolution establishing Juneteenth National Independence Day as a federal holiday. President Biden signed it into law on June 17, 2021, making it the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established in 1983.

Today, Juneteenth is considered the longest-running African American holiday, and its celebrations include parades, festivals, panel discussions, concerts, art exhibitions, and educational events. Juneteenth is both a historical commemoration and a living tradition which, as a new national holiday, invites all Americans to engage with the nation’s complex past, celebrate its progress, and continue to strive for a future of freedom for all.

Learn more about African American culture, including the Gullah Ring Shout and Bottle Tree, here!