Just like it took a while for enslaved people to learn of emancipation in the United States in 1863, it also seems to have taken many years for Americans to learn about and fully understand the meaning of Juneteenth, the holiday celebrated on June 19.

As Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, now more and more people are aware of the holiday. But there are likely still many who don’t even know what it is. 

Although President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, the news did not reach enslaved populations in the furthest Confederate state, Texas, for more than two years.

On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas and informed the enslaved African Americans of their freedom and that the Civil War had ended.

When thinking of the significance of this event, imagine being in their shoes: wishing and hoping for freedom only to learn that it happened, and you didn’t know about it. 

While some in this country are trying to erase African American stories, others are making sure that this part of our history does not get lost.

More and more Americans are now honoring Juneteenth as a holiday, known as the nation’s Second Independence Day.

But it’s been a long road to get here, beginning with those events on June 19, 1865, when the Thirteenth Amendment that abolished slavery was ratified. However, people born into slavery were not granted citizenship until 1868, and African Americans could not vote for many years after.

That’s why Juneteenth is more than a holiday; it’s a day to learn more about our history, to reflect and to remember. 

Today, there are celebrations happening throughout Sullivan County, including a festival at Hanofee Park in Liberty sponsored by the NAACP and a recognition ceremony in the Government Center honoring State Supreme Court Justice William Little and Debbie Mack, the first Black female Postmaster of Monticello.