Juneteenth

Juneteenth has taken its rightful place in the pantheon of uniquely American holidays, giving focus and definition to who we are as Americans.

On the 4th of July, we celebrate American Independence and our individual freedom and liberty. 

On Thanksgiving, as a nation we give thanks for our Blessings, our loved ones, our friends and family. 

On Martin Luther King Jr.’s eponymous holiday, we celebrate the moral purpose of our nation that gives meaning and inspiration to the American Dream. 

On Juneteenth, we celebrate the righteousness of our founding on proposition that all men are created equal, that we are one Nation, indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all, sealed in blood. That is what Juneteenth means to me. 

On June 19, 1865, the Union Army, including thousands of Black Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. 

News of the Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863, had not yet reached that remote part of Texas. Yet, a conquering army rode into a fallen Confederate stronghold to order freedom, not to exploit the conquest. 

One of General Granger’s first orders of business was to read to the people of Texas, General Order Number 3 which began most significantly 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 personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer. 

We take our freedom for granted today. We forget the brave sons of our Republic were willing to die for the freedom of their fellow countrymen, because the belief that all men are created equal burns in our marrow as Americans. 

That is something to be proud of, something to celebrate. Juneteenth gives us that opportunity. 

God Bless America!