Juneteenth: The end of slavery in the US

Each year, people in the United States celebrate Independence Day on July 4. On this national holiday, friends and family gather to have barbecues and enjoy firework displays commentating the decision to be free of British colonial rule.

But the Declaration of Independence, signed on July 4, 1776, did not grant liberty to all. Slavery remained in place. In his famous 1852 speech, Frederick Douglass, a former slave turned abolitionist, put it succinctly: "This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn." 

It took until January 1, 1863, when US President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring that "that all persons held as slaves" in states fighting Lincoln's army "are, and henceforward shall be free." It took more than two more years — until June 19, 1865 — for Union Army soldiers to arrive in Texas to enforce the proclamation.

African-Americans have since celebrated the day, which became known as Juneteenth, as a day of liberation. Yet many white people in the US have never heard of it. It was not until December 1865 that an amendment to the constitution abolished slavery in all of the United States.

Patchy awareness of Juneteenth

Awareness of the day's significance greatly depends on where in the US a person grew up.

"I've lived in Maryland for the past 15 years and not very many people are aware of it here, certainly not many white people," Melvin Edwards, an Anne Arundel County school district spokesman, told DW.

Juneteenth's absence from the school curriculum has meant that few people are aware of it, Edwards said. Even during Black History Month in February, where an emphasis is put on teaching about African-American culture and history in US schools, Juneteenth rarely comes up in class.

Edwards, who is originally from Texas, where his ancestors were held as slaves, added that because Texas is one of the states where Juneteenth is an official holiday "more people are aware of it there."

But people who grew up and live in predominantly white neighborhoods are still unaware of Juneteenth as a significant event in US history, a fact Edwards said he thinks needs to change.

"I don't want it to be something that's relegated to the black community," he said, adding, "We all belong to the American experience, so we should all know about that history."

The evolution of Juneteenth

Washington DC's expansive National Museum for African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is dedicated to that historical experience. Even though the museum is currently closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, anyone can access the website on June 19 to learn about the origins of Juneteenth and participate in an online workshop on researching family histories. 

Joanne Hyppolite, a NMAAHC curator and expert on African American and African diaspora material and expressive culture, said Juneteenth was "definitely celebrated in Texas immediately the year after."

The migration of former slaves in the US South to large cities in the country's north and west had a major impact on how awareness of Juneteenth spread throughout the country. It took about 100 years, however, until it finally became a broadly established as a day of remembrance in the black community.

"As a result of the Black Power and Civil Rights movements during the 1960s and the 1970s, African Americans were looking to celebrate their history and claim pride in their heritage," Hyppolite said. "Things like Juneteenth were opportunities for them to be able to bring attention to African American history."

Today, Juneteenth is marked with special church services and barbecues, involving friends, relatives and neighbors. The color red has become associated with this historical day, as such, many of those observing Juneteenth wear red clothes, or serve red foods and drinks, like red velvet cake and strawberry beverages.

Juneteenth as a day of reflection

Melvin Foote, head of the Washington DC-based group Constituency for Africa, which strives to educate people and lawmakers in the US about Africa, said Juneteenth provides a moment to reflect on how much progress the United States has made since slavery — and what still needs to improve.

Foote said this year highlights the need for reflection — not just because of the police brutality that led to the death of George Floyd, sparking Black Lives Matter protests across the country and the world. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Foote said, has also made clear the racial inequality that persists in the US health care system.

He also called US President Donald Trump's initial plan to hold his first post-lockdown reelection rally on June 19 tone-deaf. Trump had wanted to speak in the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, where one of the most severe incidents of racial violence in US history left scores of African Americans dead in 1921. Trump's plan sparked an outcry, and he postponed the rally by one day. All this increased awareness for Juneteenth, Foote told DW.    

Foote said he welcomes that more and more people are becoming aware of Juneteenth. But he also said, "It's not so much about what white people think, it's more about what we think, what we think about ourselves, what we think about our children, what do we think about our community.

"It's going to be more of what can we do Juneteenth to step it up as a people," he said. "How do we do better to make sure that our issues are raised and dealt with."

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