Juneteenth Celebrations
Although President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, this document had little effect outside those areas occupied by the Union troops, this was especially the case in Texas, where the slaves were not freed until General Gordon Granger of the federal occupation forces landed at Galveston on June 19, 1865 and proclaimed Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in effect. His message included the declaration that" in accordance with a proclamation by the executive of the United States all Negroes are free." Juneteenth is celebrated in African- American communities to commemorate the delivery to Texas of news of emancipation from slavery 2 years, 5 months, 18 days late.
The total slave population of the state had increased by 35 percent during the was; thousands of African- Americans had been sent south by worried owners in Louisiana and Arkansas. By the summer of 1865 most slaveholders had relinquished their slave property. But they still held onto the attitudes that had justified holding African- Americans in bondage. In response to this, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 which granted the rights of citizenship to the ex-slave and gave federal courts jurisdiction over all cases involving those rights, President Johnson promptly vetoed this Act which subsequently led to the Fourteenth Amendment. The political and social implications of these Acts and Amendments exemplified that America was far from ready to make good on the promise of emancipation.
The theme of freedom and the struggle of black people is ever present in the celebration of "Juneteenth." Examples of this are depicted in the celebration of the Goddess of Liberty, in symbols, slogans, and oratory. Like most cultural performances, it is occasion for African-Americans to present themselves symbolically to others. Juneteenth is now celebrated in many African- American communities throughout the nation and is a state holiday in Texas. can culture will in return help us all to know who we are, where we came from and where it is we must go from here!
|