Juneteenth, coming up 6/19!

Juneteenth, June 19, is the celebration of the day when Texas slaves in Galveston heard about the Emancipation Proclamation, because Union General Gordon Granger read it to them on June 19, 1865. Thus, they were set free two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, after the surrender of the Confederate States of America, and this date became a bittersweet celebration day. Early celebrations were used to educate former slaves about voting rights. The celebration of Juneteenth began in Texas, but has spread beyond... Read the University of Texas page about it below.


Univ of Texas History of Juneteenth link

Electric Village link
Good history, details on celebrations in different places and times, goood links.

Worldwide Juneteenth link (not updated yet for 2006; I don't know if it's alive or not this year.

National Juneteenth Committee 2006 link
Lots of information, but also lots of commerciality.

Handy link for Emancipation Proclamation link
(recall the date was Sept. 22, 1862).

Juneteenth Film Festival in Dallas, TX link June 5 - 18, 2006, honoring actor Richard Roundtree.

NOBLE (North of Boston Library Exchange) Juneteenth link Includes links to Slavery Narratives at the Library of Congress, which home page includes the photograph which decorates this essay.