New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Juneteenth

North Country ‘Colors of Freedom Tour’ to Celebrate Juneteenth

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colors-of-freedom-banner-2022Clinton and Essex counties were a center of the roiling abolition controversies before the Civil War, helping many freedom-seekers fleeing enslavement follow the Lake Champlain corridor to Canada in the 1830s, 1840s and 1850s.

A first-ever North Country Juneteenth celebration of the region’s role in the fight against slavery will highlight Underground Railroad work in the area, as well as prominent anti-slavery Quakers and abolitionist John Brown. [Read more…] about North Country ‘Colors of Freedom Tour’ to Celebrate Juneteenth

The Origins of Juneteenth (Podcast)

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ben_franklins_worldJuneteenth 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).

[Read more…] about The Origins of Juneteenth (Podcast)

Juneteenth in New York State: Events, Resources

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emancipation illustration courtesy Metropolitan Museum of ArtJuneteenth 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

John Brown Lives! Honors Juneteenth With Event

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Juneteenth Celebration in Houston TX in the 1960sJune 19th commemorates “Juneteenth”, the oldest known celebration of the end of slavery in the United States, and is observed in 48 of 50 states [in 2020]. It is also known as Freedom Day, or Emancipation Day.

Join us in honoring “Juneteenth” with an author reception for Scott Christianson, author of the critically acclaimed book Freeing Charles: The Struggle to Free a Slave on the Eve of the Civil War (University of Illinois Press, 2010). [Read more…] about John Brown Lives! Honors Juneteenth With Event