Juneteenth and the power of progression

June 19, 12:56 AMNY African American Community ExaminerTimisha Dixon

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Juneteenth is America’s oldest celebration of the ending of slavery; it dates back to the year 1865 back in Galveston Texas, when Major General Gordon Granger and his men arrived to relay the message that the war was over and all slaves were to be freed. They came there to officially lay down the law over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1^st 1863.

Texas didn’t get news of the ending of the war because they had no Union Soldiers to help enforce the new laws, and it took some time to get the message all the way across the south. There are rumors that many messengers were sent out to relay the news and were murdered; many people suppose at this point that the south had to be in enormous desperation to keep their cash flow coming from their free labor on the plantations, so the information was withheld intentionally. A lot of these theories have been passed down through oral history.      

According to Juneteenth.com, this is a day to focus on education and achievement. This day should be sent celebrating the legacy of African American people and how far we have come. Speeches should be said, and parks should be occupied with people who truly believe they have the power to progress. We have come a long way and for that we are blessed.

“The souls of black folks are our souls, and they’re not only our souls but the souls of those who choose WITH us to embrace the struggle for economic justice, the souls of those who reject the notion that you can define through some number or combination of grades and scores, who gets to go to college… the souls of us who say, our nation has made mistakes, but now, we want to fix them.”- Dr. Julianne Malveaux, African American economist, author and commentator.

To hear about the different Juneteenth celebrations across the nation visit :

http://www.juneteenth.com/