Happy Juneteenth!!!
June 19 or Juneteenth marks the day of freedom for Black Americans within the United States. More than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, the Union Army arrived in Galveston, Texas, to tell General Gordon Grander, U.S. Army officer and Union basic, in regards to the Proclamation. On June 19, 1895, Granger issued General Order No. 3 implementing the Emancipation Proclamation setting all Confederate states’ enslaved folks free.
General Order Number 3 started most importantly with:
“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 rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.”
Originating in Galveston, Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of ending slavery within the United States. Today, Juneteeth is a federal vacation. President Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, S. 475, into legislation on June 18, 2021 – the primary federal vacation accepted since Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in 1986. Juneteenth celebrations have unfold throughout the nation, educating, reflecting, and rejoicing Black American freedom and dignity.
The Juneteenth flag was designed by Ben Haith and Lisa Jeanne Graf in 1997 and first flown in 2000.
The Juneteenth Flag represents:
Colors – signify the United States and function a reminder that enslaved folks and their descendants had been and are Americans.
Curve – A new horizon, the chance, and promise for Black Americans after freedom.
White Star – represents Texas, the Lone Star State, and the final folks to be free of enslavement within the 50 states.
The starburst is a nova or new star – a brand new starting for all Black Americans.