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Juneteenth
PPT created by Beth James from the University of MichiganDepartment of Afroamerican and African Studies (DAAS)
Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration
commemorating the ending of slavery in the
United States.
The Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free."
Despite this expansive wording, the Emancipation Proclamation was limited in many ways. It applied only to states that had seceded from the United States, leaving slavery untouched in the loyal border states. It also expressly exempted parts of the Confederacy (the Southern secessionist states) that had already come under Northern control. Most important, the freedom it promised depended upon Union (United States) military victory.
The Emancipation Proclamation, or Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863 after its initial announcement in September 1862. It changed the federal legal status of more than 3.5 million enslaved African Americans in the designated areas of the South from slave to free.
Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in the nation, it captured the hearts and imagination of
millions of Americans and fundamentally transformed the character of the war. After January 1, 1863, every advance of
federal troops expanded the domain of freedom. Moreover, the Proclamation announced the acceptance of black men
into the Union Army and Navy, enabling the liberated to become liberators. By the end of the war, almost 200,000 black
soldiers and sailors had fought for the Union and freedom.
From the first days of the Civil War, slaves had acted to secure their own liberty. The Emancipation Proclamation
confirmed their insistence that the war for the Union must become a war for freedom. It added moral force to the Union
cause and strengthened the Union both militarily and politically. As a milestone along the road to slavery's final
destruction, the Emancipation Proclamation has assumed a place among the great documents of human freedom.
Possible dates for celebrating Emancipation
* Sept. 22: the day Lincoln issued his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation Order in 1862
* Jan. 1: the day it took effect in 1863
* Jan. 31: the date the 13th Amendment passed Congress in 1865, officially abolishing the institution of slavery
* Dec. 6: the day the 13th Amendment was ratified that year
* April 3: the day Richmond, Va., fell
* April 9: the day Lee surrendered to Ulysses Grant at Appomattox, Va.
* April 16: the day slavery was abolished in the nation’s capital in 1862
* May 1: Decoration Day, which, as David Blight movingly recounts in Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American
Memory, the former slaves of Charleston, S.C., founded by giving the Union war dead a proper burial at the site of the fallen planter elite’s Race Course
* July 4: America’s first Independence Day, some “four score and seven years” before President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation
What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth, also known as Juneteenth
Independence Day or Freedom Day, is an
American holiday that commemorates the
June 19, 1865, announcement of the
abolition of slavery in the U.S. state of Texas,
and more generally the emancipation of
enslaved African Americans throughout the
former Confederate States of America.
Juneteenth, or the "19th of June", recognizes June 19, 1865, in
Galveston, TX, when Union General Gordon Granger made
everyone aware of freedom for all slaves in the Southwest.
Texas was the last state in rebellion to allow slavery following
the end of the Civil War. This occurred more than two and a half
years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by
President Abraham Lincoln.
Upon the issuing of General Order #3 by General Granger, the
former slaves celebrated jubilantly, establishing America's
second Independence Day Celebration and the oldest African
American holiday observance.
The Nineteenth of June, along with the Fourth of July,
completes the cycle of freedom for Americans' Independence
Day observance.
Deborah 'Dee' Evans, 21 December 2018
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/hidden-history-of-juneteenth
"The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere." - General Granger
The Scatter
Obviously, most former slaves weren't terribly interested in staying with the people who had enslaved them, even if pay was involved. In fact, some were leaving before Granger had finished making the announcement. What followed was called "the scatter," when droves of former slaves left the state to find family members or more welcoming accommodations in northern regions.
http://mentalfloss.com/article/501680/12-things-you-might-not-know-about-juneteenth
Texas is a large state, and General Granger's order (and troops to enforce it) were slow to spread. According to historian James Smallwood, many enslavers deliberately suppressed the information until after the harvest, and some beyond that. In July 1867 there were two separate reports of slaves being freed, and one report of a Texas horse thief named Alex Simpsonwhose slaves were only freed after his hanging in 1868.
Despite the announcement, Texas slave owners weren't too eager to part with what they felt was their property. When legally freed slaves tried to leave, many of them were beaten, lynched, or murdered. "They would catch [freed slaves] swimming across [the] Sabine River and shoot them," a former slave named Susan Merritt recalled.
When freed slaves tried to celebrate the first anniversary of the announcement a year later, they were faced with a problem: Segregation laws were expanding rapidly, and there were no public places or parks they were permitted to use.
So, in the 1870s, former slaves pooled together $800 and purchased 10 acres of land, which they deemed "Emancipation Park." It was the only public park and swimming pool in the Houston area that was open to African Americans until the 1950s.
The celebrations lost momentum over time not because people no longer wanted to celebrate freedom—but, as it was so eloquently put, "it's difficult to celebrate freedom when your life is defined by oppression on all sides."
Juneteenth celebrations waned during the era of Jim Crow laws until the civil rights movement of the 1960s, when the Poor People's March planned by Martin Luther King Jr. was purposely scheduled to coincide with the date. The march brought Juneteenth back to the forefront, and when march participants took the celebrations back to their home states, the holiday was reborn.
Texas was the first state to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday in 1980. Though most states now officially recognize Juneteenth, it's still not a national holiday.
As a senator, Barack Obama co-sponsored legislation to make Juneteenth a national holiday, though it didn't pass then or while he was president.
One supporter of the idea is 93-year-old Opal Lee—since 2016, Lee has been walking from state to state to draw attention to the cause.
Juneteenth flag designer L.J. Graf packed lots of meaning into her design.
The colors red, white, and blue echo the American flag to symbolize that the slaves and their descendants were Americans.
The star in the middle pays homage to Texas, while the bursting "new star" on the "horizon" of the red and blue fields represents a new freedom and a new people.
www.ljgraf.com/flag_designs.html
How was Juneteenth celebrated?
This was accomplished through readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, religious sermons and spirituals, the preservation of slave food delicacies (always at the center: the almighty barbecue pit).
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/what-is-juneteenth/
Texas Juneteenth Day Celebration, 1900 (Austin History Center, Austin Public Library)
Civil War reenactors at a Juneteenth celebration
at Eastwoods Park in 1900 in a photo taken by
Grace Murray Stephenson.
CREDIT AUSTIN HISTORY CENTER PICA
05484B
Traditions of Juneteenth
In its earliest days, Juneteenth was marked by
concerts, prayer services, occasional baseball
games and, as is often the case today, parades.
Many observers also dressed in their finest
clothes, as laws in Texas and other states
previously limited the dress of African-
Americans to those that were given to them
by slave owners.
Later came the incorporation of new games and traditions, from baseball to rodeos and, later, stock car races and overhead flights.
Traditional food
Red Soda Water (and anything else that’s red)
Red is a color that is seen everywhere during Juneteenth. You will find it as red soda water, strawberry pies, red velvet cake and in red beans
and rice. The classic color symbolizes blood lost during the struggle for emancipation or the hibiscus tea that was frequently drunk by slaves
during celebrations, depending on who you talk to.
Watermelon
When it comes to this cool summer treat, there is no Juneteenth without it. In an article by the National Geographic’s The Plate, Rev. Dr.
Ronald Myers said it best:
“Watermelon and red soda water are the oldest traditional foods on Juneteenth,” said Myers, head of the National Juneteenth Observance
Foundation. “And there’s always been soul food served. Fried chicken and barbecue and greens and black-eyed peas. I’m getting hungry! At
any traditional Juneteenth dinner that’s what you’ll find.”
More modern cuisineFood has always played an important part in Juneteenth gatherings, from soulful dishes like collard greens, fried chicken, and cornbreadto red foods that have come to symbolize perseverance and resilience, such as watermelon and strawberry sodas.Some states serve up Marcus Garvey salad with red, green, and black beans, in honor of the black nationalist.
When it comes to celebrating Juneteenth, Marcus Samuelsson says, “So much about blackness and our history—oral or written down—has either been taken away or there has always been a false narrative. So when you have dates [like Juneteenth] that mark our history in terms of liberation, I think of the strength of that.”
Inspired by his upbringing, JJ Johnson's culinary style makes inspired
use of Caribbean flavors and African spices. “I’m offering my lens on
the pan-African experience,” he says. “I cook pan-African food
because I’m made up of the diaspora. I’m West Indian, Afro-Puerto
Rican, and African-American. I’m not blending cultures; I’m
expressing how they’ve lived together over hundreds of years.”
Celebrating Juneteenth, Johnson continues, is “an opportunity to
fill in the missing pages of history by honoring the price our
ancestors paid for faces they’d never see.”JJ Johnson
Juneteenth Statue / Rep. Al Edwards Statue
1859 Ashton Villa Mansion
24th and Broadway
Galveston Island, Texas, USA
This 9 foot tall bronze statue was erected in 2005 on the
grounds of Ashton Villa to commemorate the 1979 passage of
legislation making June 19th a holiday "memorializing" the
reading of the Emancipation Proclamation at Ashton Villa on
June 19, 1865.
State Rep. Al Edwards (D-Houston) introduced the legislation
in 1979 making June 19th a state holiday. The statue, costing
approximately $100,000.00, was created in his likeness and
honors him. It was paid for with state tax dollars.
The statue is of Edwards holding up a copy of the law making
June 19th a holiday. Because Edwards was still in office when
the statue was unveiled, it is officially known as a "unknown
lawmaker".
Recent Relevance
Relevance of Juneteenth today
House Hearing On Reparations Set For June 19th (Juneteenth). The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties is scheduled to hold the hearing next Wednesday, its stated purpose “to examine, through open and constructive discourse, the legacy of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, its continuing impact on the community and the path to restorative justice.”
The date of the hearing, June 19, coincides with Juneteenth, a cultural holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved blacks in America.
Since 1997, the U.S. Congress has unanimously passed legislation recognizing Juneteenth for several years. For example, in 2011,Congressman Danny K. Davis (D-IL) sponsored H.R. 323 and Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) sponsored of S.R. 211, "Observing the historical significance of Juneteenth Independence Day" in America. In 2014 - 2016, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation recognizing the "19th of June" as Juneteenth Independence Day in America.
PPT created by Beth James from the University of MichiganDepartment of Afroamerican and African Studies (DAAS)
