Juneteenth is often called America’s second Independence Day—a celebration of freedom long delayed. Juneteenth marks the fulfillment of a promise: the end of slavery in the United States. The path to national recognition of this day was long, shaped by grassroots celebrations and dedicated activists.
The name Juneteenth refers to June 19th, 1865, when the Emancipation Proclamation was legally implemented at the end of the Civil War, freeing those who were enslaved. It is important to note that not all enslaved people knew they were supposed to be freed when it happened, as news traveled slowly, was often deliberately withheld, and freedom came unevenly across the South.
Although Juneteenth was not declared a federal holiday until 2021, reports of people celebrating the holiday date back to 1865 in Texas, with records of church gatherings commemorating the day, made up largely of formerly enslaved people.
In the late 1800s, Juneteenth celebrations began to spread across the American South. Black communities would often gather on private lands because they could not use segregated public parks for the celebrations. Texas, the location of the first known celebrations, was also the first state to legally recognize the holiday, doing so in 1980.
The one man most credited for this accomplishment was civil rights activist turned state representative Al Edwards, often referred to as “The Father of the Juneteenth Holiday.” Edwards was the one who introduced the bill that made Juneteenth a state holiday, as detailed in a piece about him from Ebony Magazine. He believed Juneteenth could serve as a form of justice for the communities harmed by slavery, while also working as a tool to educate future generations.
Following its recognition in Texas, Juneteenth began to be observed by several other state governments, though not recognized as a paid government holiday as it was in Texas.
Following the 1980s, recognition of the holiday rose, with celebrations becoming more common in African American communities nationwide. Local leaders began setting up events as both the holiday and activist movements gained momentum.
Groups like the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation pushed for states to observe the holiday, with 45 states doing so by 2016.
Opal Lee was an activist who aimed to change this, campaigning for years to have Juneteenth recognized as an official holiday on a federal level. Lee held countless marches across the country to gain support for her movement, gathering millions of petition signatures.
In 2021, President Joe Biden signed a bill making Juneteenth an officially recognized national holiday, due in large part to the momentum built by Opal Lee’s activism and the broader government effort to acknowledge racial inequality following the 2020 George Floyd protests.
Today, Juneteenth serves not just as a celebration of freedom, but also as a reminder of America’s difficult past and the challenges that still need to be overcome. That being said, there are currently some concerns that Juneteenth celebrations are getting rolled back due to the recent government slashing of DEI-related funding.
What started as a community celebration in Texas became a nationwide movement to gain recognition for one of the most important days in American history, thanks in large part to the dedicated work of activists.
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