Independence Day July 4, 1776! On that day the United States gained Independence from their oppressor, Great Britain (England). Well if you’re black like me, chances are your ancestors had no celebration on this day. In fact they might have been mourning, since Great Britain promised freedom to all slaves who fought for them during the Revolutionary War. By the end of the war, over 100,000 black men were freed by Britain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the next 87 years Africans were brought, sold and enslaved in the United States and most other parts of North and South America, including the Caribbean. Slavery was finally abolished in the U.S. on January 1^st, 1863 (at least on paper) when the Emancipation Proclamation took effect. The problem was, there were no phones to call and relay the news, no instant messenger or emails…just telegraph and word of mouth. Besides the fact that word of mouth was a slow paced method of spreading the good news, most slave masters who heard the news keep it to themselves and got a couple extra years of free labor, especially in Texas, which was still under Confederate control. With nobody there to enforce the rules, the Emancipation Proclamation, essentially meant nothing to the slaves of Texas. On June 18 Union General Gordon Granger and 2,000 federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to take possession of the state and enforce the emancipation proclamation. On June 19, 1865, Granger read the contents of “General Order No. 3” in front of a large crowd at  Ashton Villa in Galveston, Texas.

 

 

 

“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere!”

By the time slaves in Galveston, Texas found out they were free, it was two years later, June 19^th, 1865. The slaves in Galveston had a celebration that very night for they were finally free (at least from chains…mentally slavery is still very much alive and unfortunately most of US keep ourselves in it.) The celebration became known as Emancipation Day or Freedom Day, and it was officially organized on June 19^th of the following year and became an annual festival.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 1980 Texas made June 19^th a state holiday. Today, although it’s not a national holiday (start sending some letters to congressman and senators to make it happen) it is a state holiday in 35 states and the District of Columbia. African Americans (I use that term loosely but I’ll get into that later) I’m not telling you don’t celebrate America’s Independence Day, but I am telling you to teach your kids about African American Independence day and pull out your grills on June 19^th, because your ancestors weren’t celebrating on July 4^th, 1776…and if they were they stopped on July 5^th once they noticed things hadn’t gotten any better.

 

States that recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday  

Alaska,  Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey,  New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and Washington D.C.

 

The Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 ended slavery in the British Empire on August 1, 1834.        (30 years before the United States)

 

Countries that celebrate Emancipation Day on August 1st

Barbados, Bermuda, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos

 

Countries that celebrate Emancipation Day on the first Monday in August

Anguilla, Bahamas, and the British virgin Islands

Don’t claim ignorance…you’ve been informed!