Juneteenth

I grew up in a small town in central Texas where there were almost no people of color but everyone there knew about Juneteenth.

Though Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was effective January 1, 1863, it had little effect on slavery as most of the south was still primarily under the control of Confederate troops.

On July 18, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston with 2000 troops. The next day he is said to have read the contents of Executive Order #3: "The people of Texas are informed, inaccordance with a proclamation of the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free."

Long celebrated in Texas, since the 1980s Juneteenth has grown in popularity throughout the US. Let us take a quiet moment this day to remember the men, women, and children victimized by this dark chapter in our history, and to renew our commitment to fighting injustice wherever it is found.