It’s a celebration of emancipation and freedom as well as a reminder that our freedoms must be actively defended if they’re to remain a reality.
June 19th, 1865 is a monumental day in our nation’s history. And while Juneteenth may have only been recognized as a federal holiday a few years ago, Americans around the country have marked it for over a century.
It’s the day Union soldiers arrived in Houston, TX — then the last stronghold of the Confederacy — with the news that President Lincoln had decreed all enslaved African Americans throughout the country to be free.
Because while the Emancipation Proclamation technically went into effect on January 1, 1863, the reality is that it took more than two years for freedom to reach all parts of the country in practice.
So today, I hope you’ll join me in celebrating this monumental holiday. It’s a celebration of emancipation and freedom as well as a reminder that our freedoms must be actively defended if they’re to remain a reality — an important reminder in today’s world.
Happy Juneteenth,
Sarah McBride
