June 19: Juneteenth
Prayer Idea
Pray for opportunities to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep.
History Note
In 1865 Galveston was the largest city in Texas. It had a busy port, where the valuable harvested crop of cotton was shipped out of the state to textile factories. Though Texas was the westernmost state in the Confederacy, few battles took place there during the Civil War.
On June 19, African American dockworkers in Galveston heard some news from incoming ships, and they began to celebrate. Their white overseers strongly reprimanded them and ordered them to concentrate on the jobs they were supposed to do. But the rumor they had heard was true, and it gave them good reason to celebrate.
On that day, Union army general Gordon Granger arrived in the city along with 2,000 troops. Granger had come to assume command of all Union forces in Texas. He had a proclamation to announce, General Order Number 3:
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 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.
Enslaved persons who were in Galveston on June 19, 1865, and over succeeding weeks those who were enslaved throughout Texas, celebrated this truth: They were now free. The formerly enslaved persons did not turn on their white neighbors or even their former masters but got about the business of reuniting families, solemnizing marriages, finding work, and seeking out opportunities for education, which had been denied them as enslaved persons.
In 1866 people who had once been in bondage gathered in Galveston to celebrate what they called Juneteenth, a combination of June and nineteenth. The practice of observing the day spread from there to other cities and towns in Texas and then to other states. Celebrations included worship services and sermons, parades, picnics, and speeches.
In 1872 black Texans raised money to buy a location they called Emancipation Park in Houston. Ten acres in size, it is the oldest park in Texas. Originally it was only used for Juneteenth celebrations. Other cities have also established parks to honor Juneteenth.
In 1979 Texas was the first state to make Juneteenth a state holiday. In 2021 the U.S. Congress established Juneteenth as the 12th national holiday.
This band performed at the Emancipation Day (Juneteenth) celebration in Austin, Texas, on June 19, 1900. Image courtesy the Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.
Learn More
Opal Lee, known as the "Grandmother of Juneteenth," spent years walking and collecting signatures to help make Juneteenth a federal holiday.
Find other resources at Homeschool History.
