History
Juneteenth comes from combining "June" and "nineteenth," commemorating enslaved African Americans' emancipation. Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, TX, on Jun. 19, 1865, and announced the end of the civil war and slavery. Although the Emancipation Proclamation came two and a half years earlier, on Jan. 1, 1863, many enslavers continued to hold enslaved Black people captive after the announcement. Juneteenth became a symbolic date representing African-American freedom.
The first Juneteenth in 1866 was celebrated with food, singing, and the reading of spirituals, and it commemorated newly freed Black people taking pride in their progress. Today Juneteenth commemorates African American freedom and emphasizes education and achievement. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021.
Notable Figures
Opal Lee: An American retired teacher, counselor, and activist in the movement to make Juneteenth a federally-recognized holiday. She is often described as the "Grandmother of Juneteenth."
Al Edwards: A civil rights activist and former Houston legislator who helped Texas become the first state in the country to make the abolition of slavery an official holiday. He is also known as the father of Juneteenth.
Rev. Jesse Jackson: A civil rights, religious, and political activist. He has played a pivotal role in virtually every movement for empowerment, peace, civil rights, gender equality, and economic and social justice.
Books
When children and youth are placed into foster care, away from parents, siblings, and extended family—they can lose their cultural identity. That is why supporting, encouraging, and honoring a child’s race, ethnicity, and culture is so important. While this may seem hard, one way to support a strong cultural identity is through literacy!
Here are three books we recommend:
- Freedom, We Sing by Amyra Leon
- What is Juneteenth by Arlisha Norwood
- Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth by Alice Faye Duncan
