20/06/2022
Happy Juneteenth! Today marks the second year this important day has been recognized as a Federal holiday 👏🏽, although the actual holiday was yesterday, on June 19th.
We still have a LONG way to go when it comes to true freedom and equality for all, especially for the black community in the US, but today we celebrate with joy and reflection as we recognize the importance of June 19, 1865, which marked the day the last slaves were finally freed, in Galveston, TX. That was two and a half YEARS after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, and two months after the end of the Civil War.
Juneteenth, also called “Freedom Day,” is a time to reflect on the unfulfilled promise of true equality, and to hold hope that it can be achieved. Many celebrate with family gatherings, music, cookouts and strawberry soda, reflection, stories about the history of their ancestors, and activism. ❤️
Some ways people outside the black community can pay recognition during this holiday are by taking time to learn more about Black history and black achievements, spending time in physical or virtual spaces with people of a different race from you, and taking action to fight against racism.
While Texas was the last state in the Confederacy to free slaves on June 19th in 1865, it was also the first to make Juneteenth a state holiday and paid day off (in 1980). Today, although all 50 states recognize Juneteenth as a “day of recognition,” only 24 states and Washington, DC have made it a paid holiday.
So, we may not be quite where we want to be yet, but we celebrate the progress and the fact, as of last June, it has now finally become a FEDERAL holiday 🙌🏾
