Juneteenth

Juneteenth (a portmanteau of June and nineteenth) – also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day, and Emancipation Day – is a holiday celebrating the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States. Originating in Galveston, Texas, it is now celebrated annually on the 19th of June throughout the United States, with varying official recognition. It is commemorated on the anniversary date of the June 19, 1865 announcement by Union Army general Gordon Granger, proclaiming freedom from slavery in Texas.

Quotes

• I did something good: I made Juneteenth very famous.
  It’s actually an important event, an important time. But nobody had ever heard of it.
  • Donald Trump, Wednesday 17 June 2020 interview in the Oval Office according to 19 June 2020 article by Michael Bender of Wall Street Journal, highlighted 21 June 2020 by Richard Wolffe of The Guardian

• Juneteenth marks both the long, hard night of slavery and subjugation, and a promise of a brighter morning to come. This is a day of profound — in my view — profound weight and profound power. A day in which we remember the moral stain, the terrible toll that slavery took on the country and continues to take — what I’ve long called “America’s original sin.” At the same time, I also remember the extraordinary capacity to heal, and to hope, and to emerge from the most painful moments and a bitter, bitter version of ourselves, but to make a better version of ourselves. You know, today, we consecrate Juneteenth for what it ought to be, what it must be: a national holiday.
  • Joe Biden, Remarks by President Biden at Signing of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, WH.gov June 17, 2021

• On June 19, 1865 — nearly nine decades after our Nation’s founding, and more than 2 years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation — enslaved Americans in Galveston, Texas, finally received word that they were free from bondage. As those who were formerly enslaved were recognized for the first time as citizens, Black Americans came to commemorate Juneteenth with celebrations across the country, building new lives and a new tradition that we honor today. In its celebration of freedom, Juneteenth is a day that should be recognized by all Americans. And that is why I am proud to have consecrated Juneteenth as our newest national holiday...
  I call upon the people of the United States to acknowledge and celebrate the end of the Civil War and the emancipation of Black Americans, and commit together to eradicate systemic racism that still undermines our founding ideals and collective prosperity.
  • Joe Biden, Proclamation on Juneteenth Day of Observance 2021, WH.gov, June 18, 2021

External links

• Encyclopedic article on Juneteenth on Wikipedia
• The dictionary definition of Juneteenth on Wiktionary
• Media related to Juneteenth on Wikimedia Commons
• Works related to Juneteenth on Wikisource