Happy Juneteenth, DU!!

[CatWoman]

© JUNETEENTH.com

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th 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.

Later attempts to explain this two and a 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 enslavers to maintain the labor force on the plantations. And still another, is that federal troops actually waited for the slave owners to reap the benefits of one last cotton harvest before going to Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. All or none of them could be true. For whatever the reason, conditions in Texas remained status quo well beyond what was statutory.

http://www.juneteenth.com/history.htm

[Xipe Totec]

1. K&R!

Happy Emancipation Day!


:bounce:

[lies and propaganda]

2. Ive already had to explain it to about 5 people today

I grew up in Louisiana, we were taught about Juneteenth because we had to own our sins.

Happy Emancipation!

[kestrel91316]

3. Indeed - a VERY HAPPY JUNETEENTH to our A/A community!!!

[Captain Hilts]

4. Back at you. My old boss was from Texas, so I would take Juneteenth off.

And, yeah, I'm white. VERY white!

[CatWoman]

5. I understand it's a very big deal in Texas

one of my coworkers, who hails from Texas, took time off so that he could go home and celebrate.

[jaysunb]

6. It's really more of a Texas thing,

since they were the last ones to get the news of freedom.

I'm told they slave owners were trying to get in the last crop of Cotton before they had to, "let my people go. "

[omega minimo]

14. 31 states have made it a State Holiday. Celebrations all over this nation and beyond.

The news didn't reach Texas for 2 1/2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

More info and cool stuff:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5866170

[create.peace]

16. hard to find the real story, but this is similar to what you said

"Later attempts to explain this two and a 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 enslavers to maintain the labor force on the plantations. And still another, is that federal troops actually waited for the slave owners to reap the benefits of one last cotton harvest before going to Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. All or none of them could be true. For whatever the reason, conditions in Texas remained status quo well beyond what was statutory."

[Captain Hilts]

8. VERY Big Deal. My boss was Dutch, by the way. But it helped educate folks in our DC office

about what Juneteenth was.

[Catherine Vincent]

7. Back atcha!

:hi:

[n2doc]

9. ...

[Captain Hilts]

10. About a year ago I was waiting for an appointment at the Library of Congress to arrive...

and I was sitting out front on a big, stone block. There was a black fellow sitting on the block also. He seemed to be a kid about my age - late 40s. He asked if I would mind if he lit a cigar. I told him to light up. We got to talking. He mentioned that his grandfather was born a slave. There was a pause. I said, "don't take this the wrong way, but that's kinda cool, having a grandfather who had been a slave. You're closer to history." I'm very white. He took a drag on his cigar and said, "yeah, it IS kinda cool." There was a pause and I said, "you know, my grandfather was kind of a slave. His parents were killed with the IRA and the British government sent him and his sister - 7 and 8 years old - to work of separate farms outside Montreal." He said, "yeah, that's a kind of slavery too."

So, it upsets me that slavery is still so prevalent in the world. Labor. Sexual. You name it.

Here's to more Juneteenths in more countries.

[blogslut]

11. K&R

Happy Juneteenth!

[sonias]

12. Happy Junteeth everyone!

:bounce: :toast: :party:


Sonia

[omega minimo]

13. Happy Juneteenth!! Link to Juneteenth thread: info, links, video, poetry, red soda pop

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5866170

[foxfeet]

15. Happy Juneteenth!

:party: :fistbump:

[Terran]

17. Happy Juneteenth snookums!

Go check out omega minimo's thread, it's AWESOME. :loveya:

[underpants]

18. Happy Juneteenth to us all

:hi: