06/19/2020
Celebração de Junho 19, quando em 1865, mais de 250.000 então escravos no estado do Texas receberam a notícia que o presidente Lincoln havia assinado a abolição da escravatura, 2 anos e meio antes, em Já eiró de 1863. Foi o dia que comemoraram a liberdade. Apesar de muitas outros desafios terem surgido depois disso, esse dia foi dia de festa. Na foto abaixo, uma comemoração de Junho 19 de 1900 no Texas.
Junho 19 é observado em 47 estados dos Estados Unidos.
‘e que é o que o Senhor requer de ti, senão que pratiques a justiça, e ames a benevolência, e andes humildemente com o teu Deus?’ - Miqueias 6:8
African American Ministries - PCA
On June 19, 1865, about 2,000 Union soldiers led by General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, TX with news that the Civil War had ended and that the enslaved were now free (there were about 250,000 Black people enslaved in TX at this time). This was two and a half YEARS after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation (signed January 1, 1863).
The day, coined “Juneteenth,” is the celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. Former slaves celebrated this new freedom and that celebration is remembered each year. Texas was the first state to establish Juneteenth as a state holiday, and, as of now, 47 states along with the District of Columbia recognize Juneteenth as a holiday or observance.
It is documented that the first slaves arrived in Virginia in 1619. From 1619 until 1865, Black people were in bo***ge in the U.S. They were stripped of everything including their names, language, and culture, and experienced some of the most horrific acts imaginable. While the end of slavery brought on new hardships for Black people (Reconstruction, Jim Crow, Civil Rights Movement, and beyond), Juneteenth is a day to be celebrated, a day to remember!
While Juneteeth has long been celebrated in the African American community, it remains largely unknown to many Americans. Did you know about Juneteenth?
(Picture is of a Juneteenth celebration in 1900 at Eastwoods Park in TX. Credit: Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture)