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Juneteenth originated in Galveston, Texas, when enslaved people were told on this day in history, June 19, 1865, that they had been emancipated.
Texas was the first state to make it an official celebration.
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, but according to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the end of slavery was not implemented until later in certain places still under Confederate control.
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Enslaved people had been freed two and a half years earlier, when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, according to PBS.
So freedom came on June 19, 1865, when about 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture tells us.
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, but freedom did not come to many enslaved people until June 19, 1865. Today, Juneteenth is a federal holiday. (Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images)
The Union Army with Major General Gordon Granger, Commander of the Texas District, announced that more than 250,000 enslaved African-American citizens in the state were free by executive order, citing the same source.
“In accordance with a proclamation of the Executive Branch of the United States, all slaves are free.”
“Granger delivered Galveston General Orders, No. 3. The order informed all Texans that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves were free,” says the Galveston Historical Society.
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general order no. 3 stated, according to multiple sources, “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation of the Executive Branch of the United States, all slaves are free.”
Unspecified enslaved black people are shown sitting on the front porch of a cabin, with shrubs growing in the front yard, in Georgia, circa 1895. The property is as it would have appeared before the American Civil War. (FPG/archive photos/Hulton archive/Getty Images)
It continued: “This implies an absolute equality of personal rights and property rights between former masters and slaves, and the hitherto existing bond between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly in their present homes and work for pay. They are told that they are not allowed to collect on military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.”
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The official handwritten record of General Order No. 3 is kept in the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C., according to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
Juneteenth is celebrated annually on June 19, and the holiday’s name is a combination of the words “June” and “nineteenth,” according to multiple sources.
The annual Juneteenth commemoration has grown from local roots to a national celebration with parades, lectures, processions and more.
It is considered the longest-running holiday in African-American and Black communities, and was often celebrated with community celebrations on the third Saturday in June, according to PBS.
The annual Juneteenth commemoration has grown from local roots to a national celebration with parades, lectures, processions and more, the Galveston Historical Society describes.
Prayer, reflection, community leadership
In 1979, the Galveston Juneteenth Committee started an annual Juneteenth celebration and events included the reading of General Orders, No. 3 through prayer, reflections, and community leadership.
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A law passed by the Texas Legislature in 1979 officially made Juneteenth a holiday in the state of Texas on January 1, 1980, the Galveston Historical Society told.
In 2006, the Juneteenth Committee, along with the City of Galveston, erected a statue of the reading of the warrant that the Galveston History Society says remains a permanent reminder to residents and visitors of the June 19, 1865, event.
On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, making June 19 a legal holiday. (Associated Press)
The City of Galveston turned the building and grounds over to the Galveston Historical Foundation in 2018, which now manages and maintains the property, according to the same source.
On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, making June 19 a legal holiday.
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June 19, 2023 marks Juneteenth’s 158th birthday.
The official name of the federal holiday is Juneteenth National Independence Day — also referred to as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Black Independence Day, and Juneteenth Independence Day, according to Britannica.
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The day joined 10 other permanent federal holidays, including Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day and Veterans Day, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Erica Lamberg is a contributing reporter for Fox News Digital.
