Juneteenth is now celebrated annually on June 19th throughout the United States with varying degrees of “official” recognition. It is commemorated on the anniversary date – June 19, 1865 – when in Galveston, Texas, Union Army General Gordon Granger proclaimed freedom from slavery.
Juneteenth, more commonly known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day or Emancipation Day, is a holiday celebrating the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States. North Dakota, South Dakota and Hawaii are the only states choosing not to set the day aside for recognition.
From its inception President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation officially outlawed slavery in Texas and all other states that were in rebellion against the Union nearly two and a half years earlier. Unfortunately, though, enforcement of the proclamation generally relied on the advancement of Union troops, and with Texas being the most remote of the slave states, there was a low presence of Union troops as the American Civil War ended. Therefore, enforcement in Texas had been slow and inconsistent before Granger’s announcement. The 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolished chattel slavery nationwide.
There have been observances dating back to 1866, involving, at first, church-centered community gatherings in Texas. Events quickly spread across the South, becoming more commercialized in the 1920s and 1930s and often focused on the festival of food. But during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s the event was eclipsed by the struggle for postwar civil rights. Yet, Juneteenth grew in popularity again in the 1970s with a focus on African American freedom and arts. By the 21st Century, Juneteenth was celebrated in most major cities across the United States, and activists are enthusiastically campaigning for the United States Congress to recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday.
Modern observance primarily is locally organized and includes public readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, singing traditional songs such as “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” as well as the recitation of works by noted African American writers such as Ralph Ellison and Maya Angelou. Celebrations also include rodeos, street fairs, cookouts, family reunions, park parties, historical reenactments and Miss Juneteenth contests.
In the Roanoke Valley, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) keeps Juneteenth alive. Dr. Perneller Chubb-Wilson, president of the Roanoke SCLC, said she was in Georgia many years ago and saw a Juneteenth celebration and was inspired to produce a similar event in Roanoke. Bishop Edward Mitchell, who serves as vice president of the organization, says for more than 13 years, the SCLC in conjunction with the City of Roanoke, and partners including Kroger, have sponsored events in Washington Park to commemorate Juneteenth. Again, this year, due to the on-going pandemic, Chubb-Wilson says a celebration walk/march is being planned instead of a park event.
Juneteenth holiday proponents continue to lobby U.S. legislators to add the date to the officially recognized American holidays. Many legislators are in favor. But there are opponents, including Sen. Ron Johnson, R-WI, a conservative who takes hardline stances on federal spending. While he says he supports Juneteenth marking the end to slavery, he would not support giving “federal workers a paid day off that the rest of America has to pay for.” Johnson estimates that creating another federal holiday would cost the private sector “up to $600 million a year,” which is a raindrop in a bucket compared to the $11 billion dollar price tag appropriated for the construction of the border wall. That wall has borne witness to a magnitude of death, family separation and incarceration reminiscent of the aforementioned slave trade.
But let us not stray too far from our goal and mission, which to address the question of why is Juneteenth not a holiday?
Juneteenth should be held in the same categorical reverence as the Fourth of July, along with the same monetary price-tag attached, holiday commercialism and colorful holiday adornments. Now, let’s not forget about the very bumpy road we trod in order to bring about the national holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. It was U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., who in 1968 lobbied for a federal holiday to be added to the calendar in honor of Dr. King. However, the King holiday did not actually receive the official presidential approval until 1983. It officially was observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000.
On June 16th, 2020, our very own Gov. Ralph Northam, announced Juneteenth as a permanent paid Virginia holiday. The governor kicked off the holiday notification by giving state employees the day off on June 19, 2020. Before Northam’s action, Virginia had marked Juneteenth by issuing a proclamation, but the date previously had not been considered a state holiday.
Jordan Bell, one of Roanoke’s up and coming activists, thinks that “a lot of people don’t understand the importance of the holiday, and most think that it’s celebrated in opposition of Fourth of July.” Bell also thinks that the white community, in part, is not emotionally prepared for the discussion regarding making Juneteenth a holiday.
Gov. Northam may have summed up the importance of Juneteenth when he stated: “Since 1619, when representative democracy and enslaved African people arrived in Virginia within a month of each other, we have said one thing, but done another.” Northam also added that, “It’s time we elevate Juneteenth not just as a celebration by and for some Virginians, but one acknowledged and commemorated by all of us. It mattered then because it marked the end of slavery in this country, and it matters now because it says to Black communities, this is not just your history – this is everyone’s shared history, and we will celebrate it together. This is a step toward the Commonwealth we want to be as we go forward.”
Tags: Visiting Voice
Share On Facebook
Tweet It
