Department of Health and Social Services Library

Celebrating Juneteenth

WHAT IS JUNETEENTH?
(History.com, Juneteenth.com, National Museum of African American History and Culture)

Juneteenth (a portmanteau of "June" and "Nineteenth") is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.
On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger and his Union soldiers arrived to Galveston, Texas to declare the end of the war and to oversee that the enslaved were freed.

The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863 - a whole TWO YEARS ago! But in reality, the Emancipation Proclamation didn't instantly free any slaves because it could only be applied to places under Confederate control. Texas was considered a safe haven for enslavers because the state didn't experience significant presence of Union control or resistance. By the time Maj. Gen. Granger came to Galveston with his troops, Texas had over 250,000 enslaved people waiting for freedom.

In 1866, freedmen in Texas organized what would be the first celebration of the holiday, originally called "Jubilee Day." From then on, it became a holiday celebrated with music, food, prayer services, and many participants have taken the holiday to migrate to Galveston, TX where it all began.
 

WHY DO WE CELEBRATE JUNETEENTH?

"The observance of Juneteenth is about the journey and achievement of African Americans - from a horrific period of sanctioned enslavement to the pinnacle of human endeavors. It is a story of pride, resilience, and determination that will always be of historical and spiritual significance - as it serves us well to understand that together we can overcome all obstacles in our path." (Juneteenth.com)

The DHSS Library encourages you to take this holiday to reflect on the history of our country and its people, to celebrate and appreciate the freedom we have, and help build a better and more tolerant future.
 

RECOMMENDED READING

The Juneteenth Reading List (Penguin Random House)

Juneteenth Reading List (National Museum of African American History and Culture)

Juneteenth: A Reading List (Carnegie Library)

On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed

ISBN: 9781631498831

Publication Date: 2021-05-04

ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIOBOOK!

The essential, sweeping story of Juneteenth's integral importance to American history, as told by a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Texas native. Weaving together American history, dramatic family chronicle, and searing episodes of memoir, Annette Gordon-Reed's On Juneteenth provides a historian's view of the country's long road to Juneteenth, recounting both its origins in Texas and the enormous hardships that African-Americans have endured in the century since, from Reconstruction through Jim Crow and beyond. All too aware of the stories of cowboys, ranchers, and oilmen that have long dominated the lore of the Lone Star State, Gordon-Reed--herself a Texas native and the descendant of enslaved people brought to Texas as early as the 1820s--forges a new and profoundly truthful narrative of her home state, with implications for us all. Combining personal anecdotes with poignant facts gleaned from the annals of American history, Gordon-Reed shows how, from the earliest presence of Black people in Texas to the day in Galveston on June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger announced the end of legalized slavery in the state, African-Americans played an integral role in the Texas story. Reworking the traditional "Alamo" framework, she powerfully demonstrates, among other things, that the slave- and race-based economy not only defined the fractious era of Texas independence but precipitated the Mexican-American War and, indeed, the Civil War itself. In its concision, eloquence, and clear presentation of history, On Juneteenth vitally revises conventional renderings of Texas and national history. As our nation verges on recognizing June 19 as a national holiday, On Juneteenth is both an essential account and a stark reminder that the fight for equality is exigent and ongoing.