Marches commemorate Juneteenth across the nation
Hats flying through the air and women dancing all around: such is the alleged image of Galveston, Texas on June 19th, 1865, where enslaved black Americans were told they were finally free.
Protesters chant as they march after a Juneteenth rally at the Brooklyn Museum, Friday, June 19, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
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UPDATED 2:00 PM PT — Friday, June 19, 2020
Hats flying through the air and women dancing all around: such is the alleged image of Galveston, Texas on June 19th, 1865, where enslaved black Americans were told they were finally free.
On this day in 1865, slaves in Texas were notified by Union Civil War soldiers about the abolition of slavery. This was 2.5 years the final Emancipation Proclamation which freed all enslaved Black Americans.
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— AFRICAN & BLACK HISTORY (@africanarchives) June 19, 2020
The word came from Union General Gordon Granger, who announced the end of the Civil War. Texas was one of the last states to find out.
The news prompted the first Juneteenth, which came more than two months after the surrender of the Confederacy and a full 2 1/2 years after Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.
A young boy walks past a painting depicting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during a Juneteenth celebration in Los Angeles. Friday, June 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The message quickly spread, rippling through the states’ some 250,000 slaves and beyond.
“They started celebrating,” explained historian Jesse Holland. “Their descendants moved that celebration out of Galveston, Texas, to around Texas, around the United States and now around the world.”
The date, known as Juneteenth, marks a powerful holiday in the hearts and lives of black Americans.
“Juneteenth is actually the day that African Americans celebrate their independence,” stated Holland. “With all of the conversation around racial equality and justice in the United States, a lot of people are turning to Juneteenth as a symbol.”
People hold yellow umbrellas covered with the names of killed people during a Juneteenth 2020 celebration and protest against police brutality in Dallas, Friday, June 19, 2020. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
While the freedom of former slaves still proved to be an uphill battle for decades to come, present day African Americans believe the holiday serves as an important opportunity to recognize the lasting contributions black Americans have had on this country and commemorate their history.
“My beautiful and courageous ancestors built this country,” said one black American.
Many have celebrated the occasion by hosting barbecues and block parties, but this year, celebrations made their way out onto the streets.
In cities across the country, residents flooded the streets to march in honor of Juneteenth.
A moment of silence is observed at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington on Friday, June 19, 2020, to mark Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating the day in 1865 that enslaved black people in Galveston, Texas, learned they had been freed from bondage, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)