Why should Juneteenth 2009 be marked by a celebration?
Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19 that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new executive order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance. All later attempts to explain this two-and-half-year delay in the receipt of this important news have yielded several versions that have been handed down through the years. Often told is the story of a messenger who was murdered on his way to Texas with the news of freedom. Another is that the news was deliberately withheld by the ensl
You’ve probably heard or read the old saying, “Those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it.” The writer could very well have been referring to slavery and/or the experiences of its aftermath. Whatever the motivation, those words are as poignant today as ever. The planners of this year’s Juneteenth Celebration in Tuskegee are hopeful that the history which gave birth to this festive time of year is never forgotten. That hope is one of the primary reasons why Juneteenth is celebrated. Prior to the emancipation of America’s slaves, life for African Americans was the worst that it has been for a people on this Earth. Slavery in America was an awful ordeal, so much so that some of the vestiges of the experience still psychologically affect African Americans and others today. Much has been said and written about the effects of slavery in America. One author, Dr. Na’im Akbar, Ph.D., a psychologist at Florida State University, has written several books on the subject, including Chai
You’ve probably heard or read the old saying, “Those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it.” The writer could very well have been referring to slavery and/or the experiences of its aftermath. Whatever the motivation, those words are as poignant today as ever. The planners of this year’s Juneteenth Celebration in Tuskegee are hopeful that the history which gave birth to this festive time of year is never forgotten. That hope is one of the primary reasons why Juneteenth is celebrated. Sources: http://www.thetuskegeenews.com/articles/2009/06/18/news/doc4a3944dcbd87f881525733.
