Juneteenth is the commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. The origins of the commemoration date back to June 19, 1865, when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, first heard that the Civil War had ended and they were free. [Read more…] about Juneteenth Resources and Information
Juneteenth
The Origins of Juneteenth (Podcast)
Juneteenth is a state holiday that commemorates June 19th, 1865, the day slavery ended in Texas. Over the last decade, a push to make Juneteenth a national holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States has gained momentum.
What do we know about Juneteenth and its origins?
In this episode of the Ben Franklin’s World podcast, Annette Gordon-Reed, an award-winning historian at Harvard University and Harvard Law School, is a native Texan and she joins us to discuss the early history of Texas and the origins of the Juneteenth holiday with details from her book, On Juneteenth (Liveright, 2021).
Juneteenth in New York State: Events, Resources
Juneteenth is the commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. The origins of the commemoration date back to June 19th, 1865, when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas first heard that the Civil War had ended, and they were free.
The June 19th, 1865 date was more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation and two months after General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to General Ulysses S. Grant. This was due to the lack of Union solders in Texas to enforce emancipation resulting in African Americans continuing to be held in bondage.
That changed on June 19th, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger entered Texas with a force large enough to enforce the freeing of the enslaved. [Read more…] about Juneteenth in New York State: Events, Resources