Today is June 19, also known as Juneteenth, a day that recognizes a 159-year-old proclamation in Texas intended to free all slaves, a full eighteen months after the Emancipation Proclamation. Known as ‘America’s Second Independence Day’, Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, meaning many Americans can enjoy a true day off to celebrate the end of slavery.
As national holidays go, it’s our newest. While the recognition of Juneteenth as a federal holiday is only three years out, the celebration itself has been thriving much longer.
Known as the ‘longest-running African-American holiday,’ Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865 when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, with 2,000 Union troops to proclaim that more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state were free. Notably, President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863 thus officially freeing “all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State,” but word had not arrived the far reaches of The Lone Star State and local slave owners were mostly resistant.
Twentynine Palms Councilmember Octavious Scott commented on the holidays’ significance. “Juneteenth is a very important holiday for all Americans, not just black Americans. It’s a holiday that, you know, it’s been a state holiday as early as the 1970s in Texas, and it’s even been a state holiday in California as early as, I think, 2003. And so it’s really good to finally see that it’s become a federal holiday where all Americans can take the day to learn about the history of Juneteenth and how it came to be, the emancipation of enslaved people in this country and paving the way for, basically, a more righteous country.”
“Now that it’s a federal holiday, more and more Americans are starting to learn the history of Juneteenth and it’s really, really important that we continue to remember the sacrifices of those people who basically put their lives on the line to emancipate the enslaved people.”
In 1866, just one year later after the historic proclamation, freedmen in Texas organized what was then known as “Jubilee Day.” Early celebrations also became political rallies that provided voting instructions to newly freed African-Americans.
“It’s a special holiday for me because I have ancestors who fought in the Civil War. My grandparents, they come from Texas, where Juneteenth basically originated. And a lot of black Americans who are in California now, they can trace their ancestry to Texas,” said Scott.
Although Juneteenth commemorates enslaved people learning of their freedom under the Emancipation Proclamation, this only applied to former Confederate states. There remained legally enslaved people in states that never seceded from the Union and they were not freed until the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution on December 6, 1865.
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., first introduced the Juneteenth bill in 2020 following the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, but without success. Ultimately, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law making it the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was adopted in 1983.
The City of Twentynine Palms will host an official Juneteenth Flag-Raising Ceremony at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, June 19, at City Hall, 6136 Adobe Road. The event will also feature fresh bagels from 29 Loaves.
Note that the mid-week federal holiday means that most banks and post offices will be closed, so instead of running errands, consider a visit to Joshua Tree National Park as this year marks the first time that the holiday allows for free entry into all our national parks.
Mariana Wright, who recently co-hosted last weekend’s Juneteenth celebration in Twentynine Palms, provided some background: “Juneteenth, the last slaves that were notified that they were freed, in Galveston, Texas, where the celebration came from, so in response to that notice, they got together, they had a big cookout and activities, and celebrated so we’re just kind of replicating that energy and that vibe of freedom.”
