By JAMIE STENGLE
Associated Press
This is the fifth year since Juneteenth was designated as a federal holiday by former President Joe Biden, who served as Obama’s vice president. But the celebrations, which began in Texas and then spread across the country, have a rich and long history in Black America, with the day often spent gathering for picnics and cookouts.
The holiday — a combination of “June” and “nineteenth” — marks the day that U.S. Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger and his troops arrived in the Texas port city of Galveston with the declaration of freedom in General Order No. 3.
As the third year of the Civil War neared, President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring the freedom of “all persons held as slaves” in the still rebellious states of the Confederacy. Though, for many, it did not mean immediate freedom but a promise of freedom with a Union victory.
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“It really required the force of arms and the success of U.S. armies to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation,” McDaniel said.
About six months after Granger’s arrival in Galveston, the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery was ratified.
Celebrations across the nation
Galveston, the birthplace of Juneteenth, is celebrating with a daylong gathering at a park with music and fireworks, a parade and a worship service in a historic Black church. In nearby Houston, there will be a lineup of musical artists and a domino tournament at Emancipation Park, established in 1872 by a group of formerly enslaved men.
Other events across the U.S. over the long weekend include a parade in Atlanta, a bike ride in Los Angeles and a festival on Martha’s Vineyard.
Several cities across the U.S. will host walks named for Opal Lee, the Texas woman who pushed for years to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. Participants will walk 2 1/2 miles to symbolize the 2 1/2 years it took for the Emancipation Proclamation to be enforced in Texas. Lee, known as the “grandmother of Juneteenth,” turns 100 this year.
A holiday for reflection
Black Texans embraced the date of Granger’s arrival as one to celebrate, and by the 1880s, “it was difficult to find a significant community in Texas where it wasn’t being marked by African Americans,” McDaniel said.
“They made it a community celebration, they made it a celebration of not only freedom but also a demonstration of community empowerment and institution-building,” he added.
Corey D. B. Walker, dean of Wake Forest University’s divinity school, said the holiday offers a way to recognize the nation’s “complex history” and what it means to be a U.S. citizen, especially amid efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to undermine the retelling of Black history.
“I think it really reminds people the importance of understanding a fuller, more robust portrait of our nation’s history and the many contributions of many individuals who have contributed to America’s experiment with democracy,” Walker said.