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40 Ways To Celebrate Juneteenth
In America and abroad
June 19, 1865, was the day that all enslaved Africans in the United States were officially freed. This day became known as “Juneteenth” or “Freedom Day.”
Within the last decade, the conversations surrounding police brutality and other forms of systemic racism has made many Black Americans reconsider celebrating holidays like American Independence Day in July and opting for Juneteenth instead since our ancestors clearly weren’t freed in 1776 or even considered a full person (see: Three-Fifths Compromise). While it is true that slavery has indeed reshaped itself over the years, Juneteenth signifies the first major win in this continuous fight for the rights that we deserve.
Like many things in Black American history, Juneteenth was never taught in schools and up until recently, the day wasn’t listed on US calendars. History books mentioned Abraham Lincoln issuing the Emancipation Proclamation at the beginning of 1863, but the truth is that slavery did not officially end for everyone in the country until two and a half years later when the slaveowners in Texas were informed that the Confederates lost the war. This means that even though the legislation passed two years prior, there were southern states that continued to own slaves illegally.
