Juneteenth-June 19, 1865
Have you ever heard the term “Watch Service”? In my family and many others, we go to church on New Year’s Eve to watch the old year go out and the new year come in, “Watch Service”. However, the first Watch Service or “Freedom’s Eve” was January 1, 1863. On that night, enslaved and free African Americans gathered in churches and homes across the country awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect. It happened, prayers were answered, and at midnight, enslaved people in Confederate States were declared legally free. Unfortunately, enslaved people were not declared free in places still under Confederate control. On June 19, 1865, some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, announcing that more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state were free, technically freed two-and-a-half years prior. This day came to be known as “Juneteenth”. Can you imagine being one minute away from the life you desired, prayed for, hoped for? Can you imagine being one minute more in a state of fear, of being considered property like an animal, being forced to work in unbearable conditions, denied an education, of being sold and separated from your child, husband, wife, sibling, of being whipped, mutilated, defiled? Now imagine being over one million minutes more in that situation. That was the time that lapsed between what should not have been and what was. The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution officially abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in December 1865. During Reconstruction (1865-1877), the post-emancipation period, formerly enslaved people immediately sought to reunify families, establish schools, run for political office, and push legislation. Given the 200+ years of enslavement, such changes were nothing short of amazing. My undergraduate university and medical college are defined as historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). They were founded in 1871 and 1876 respectively, just a few years following the end of slavery, remarkable! Juneteenth commemorates the day, June 19, 1865, when the last enslaved people in the United States learned of their freedom. Juneteenth festivities celebrate the end of a dark period in our country, and as symbolized by the Juneteenth flag, they celebrate a new beginning, a new horizon, and hope for the future.
Sources: The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth, National Museum of African American History and Culture, https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/historical-legacy-juneteenth
What Does Juneteenth Celebrate? The History of the Holiday,
https://www.pbs.org/articles/learn-about-and-celebrate-juneteenth
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