On June 19, 1865, Union Major-General Gordon Granger issued General Order #3 in Galveston, announcing freedom from slavery in Texas, one of the last places to receive the news. The date, since dubbed “Juneteenth,” is now observed annually as a federal holiday to celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation’s enforcement and the liberation of the remainder of the enslaved both in Texas and throughout the newly reformed United States.
Here’s an abridged and adapted timeline from the National Juneteenth Museum planned for Forth Worth, Texas, scheduled to break ground later this year. As you listen to what was won, consider what has been so recently lost or threatened.
December 31, 1862: Freedom’s Eve, the first watch night service was held amongst enslaved and free African-Americans at churches and homes, awaiting the news that the Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect.
January 1, 1863: The next day: the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln.
March 3, 1865: the creation of the Freedman’s Bureau, a federal agency created to help African Americans transition from slavery to freedom.
June 19, 1865: Major-General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced the end of the Civil War and the end of slave.
December 6, 1865: [six months later] 13th amendment to the US Constitution [was] ratified, [bringing about the official] abolition of slave slavery in the United States
April 6, 1866: The Civil Rights Act of 1866, the nation‘s first civil rights law, declaring that all persons born in the United States to be citizens, “without distinction of race or color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude.“
June 19, 1866: the first Juneteenth was celebrated, marking the one-year anniversary of the official end of the US Civil War and slavery.
June 19, 1867: the first official Juneteenth celebration took place in Austin, Texas, established with the help of the Friedman Bureau.
July 9, 1868: the 14th amendment granted African Americans, the right of citizenship, [2 ½ years after the abolition of slavery]
February 3, 1870: [a year and a half later still] the 15th amendment asserted the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on the account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
1900s: Here we see an image from the early part of the 1900s. It is an image of a Juneteenth celebration. [pause] Yet, by mid-century, public Juneteenth celebrations dwindled in favor of more private celebrations and the focus on civil rights freedoms and movement, including renewed focus to enforce the right to vote for African Americans. It was in the 1970s that a revival of Juneteenth celebrations emerged across the United States in major cities.
January 1, 1980: Texas is the first state to declare Juneteenth state holiday.
1994: The modern Juneteenth movement began when a group of Juneteenth leaders from across the country gathered in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1997: through the leadership of Lula Briggs Galloway and Rev. Ronald B Meyers Sr., the US Congress officially passed historic legislation, recognizing Juneteenth as Juneteenth Independence Day in America. The first flag representing the Juneteenth holiday was created by Ben Haith.
2016: Dr. Opal Lee walked from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington, DC to petition to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. It took her four months. She is often referred to as “the Grandmother of Juneteenth.”
2020: Representative Sheila Jackson Lee introduced a resolution recognizing the historical significance of the Juneteenth.
June 17, 2021: Juneteenth National Independence Day Act was signed into law.