Juneteenth Day, celebrated on June 19th, is also known as Independence Day or Freedom Day. This day was originally used to announce the abolition of slavery in Texas and mostly the emancipation of slaves throughout the Confederate South. Juneteenth Day is an official holiday only some states. Typical celebrations include singing traditional songs, emancipation proclamation, and readings. Different celebrations also include parades, rodeos, street fair, family reunions, parties, and cookouts.
During the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862. The Emancipation Proclamation declared all slaves to be freed in the Confederate States of America in rebellion and not in union hands. The Proclamation didn’t have its full effect on states such as Texas because it was isolated geographically. So then the slaves were not affected by the Emancipation Proclamation unless they escape. Most slaves lived in rural areas, about more than 1,000 resided in both Galveston and Houston by 1860 with other several large towns. Since the 1950s and 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement focused the attention of African-American youth on the struggle for racial equality and future.
After the Poor People’s Campaign in 1968 to Washington D.C., many people went back to where they live and initiated celebrations of Juneteenth Day in areas that did not celebrate the holiday. Since the 1980s and 1990s, Juneteenth became more widely celebrated by African American Communities. In 1994, a group of community leaders gathered at Christian Unity Baptist Church in New Orleans, Louisiana to work for a greater national celebration of Juneteenth. Organizations such as the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation are working towards gaining Congressional approval to make Juneteenth as a national day of observance.
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