WASHINGTON DC – Every June 19 marks the end of slavery in the United States, a date known as Juneteenth, a mixture of the words “June” (June) and “nineteenth” (nineteenth).
Juneteenth, also known in Spanish as Liberation Day or Emancipation Day, was recognized for many years as a day of commemoration but it was not until 2021 that it officially became a federal holiday in the country.
Since 2020, the Juneteenth celebration has gained importance in the context of the controversial death of George Floyd at the hands of the police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25 of that year.
THE JUNETEENTH STORY
It all began on June 9, 1865, when the general of the Union — the northern states of the US that sought to abolish slavery — Gordon Granger, arrived in Galveston, Texas, where he reported the end of slavery after the bloody Civil war.
The general’s announcement put into effect the Emancipation Proclamation that President Abraham Lincoln had signed two years earlier.
Although Juneteenth is a widespread celebration of the end of slavery in the US, Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, and West Virginia continued to legally practice slavery until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in December 1865.
It was in June 1921 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
HOW JUNETEENTH IS CELEBRATED IN THE UNITED STATES
Historically, families of descendants of slaves gathered together to pray, and many of them participated in pilgrimages to Galveston, Texas.
The theme of rejecting racism resurfaced in 2020 with protests across the country against police brutality and the stigma suffered by African-American communities for centuries.
