Juneteenth

Juneteenth (June 19, 1865)

“Juneteenth” short for June Nineteenth, marks a celebration originated in Texas on June 19, 1865. A full two months after traitorous Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered in Virginia, General Gordon Granger of the Union army, took nearly 2,000 troops to seize control of the state and formally enforce Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.

As read by General Granger, General Orders No. 3 declared in part: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”

Since Texas was not home to major fighting or Union presence, the state remained largely unaffected by the surrender. The exact reason for this two-month delay is unknown. Different versions abound, including:

- the murder a government messenger en route to Texas with news of the war’s end
- in order to keep the productivity of enslaved people, the enslavers intentionally withheld the news
- working in concert with enslavers, federal troops waited to allow the enslavers to benefit from one final cotton harvest

Whatever the specific or combination of reasons, Texas did not enforce the Emancipation Proclamation till well after the surrender of the Confederacy. When the news finally reached the formally enslaved, celebrations broke out and Juneteenth was born. Years later, as formerly enslaved Texans moved to other parts of the country (Great Migration), Juneteenth celebrations including barbecues, prayer services, music, and several other commemorations, spread throughout the country.