emancipation

As we gather to celebrate Juneteenth, it is vital to reflect deeply on the historical context surrounding the delayed emancipation of enslaved people in Texas. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston announcing the enforcement of President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, issued more than two years earlier, on January 1, 1863.

This July 4th, America will celebrate 245 years of independence from British rule. However, when President Joe Biden signed into law Juneteenth as a  federal holiday, it forces Americans to take a sterner look at what this July 4th means.

A uniquely Texas holiday has been adopted as a national holiday as the United States grapples with a racial reckoning sparked by the police murder of George Floyd.