#HISTORYUP365 | Juneteenth Emancipation Day – What is it?

Happy Juneteenth! The day celebrated for decades as the Black Independence Day.

Although Juneteenth (June 19, 1865) is often referred to as the day slavery was ended in the U.S., it was not. It was, however, the day the last slaves held by the Confederacy (deep in Texas) learned that they had been freed by the terms of the Emancipation Proclamation dated January 1, 1863, now that the Union had won the Civil War and suppressed the rebellion of the South.

What many overlook about this second Emancipation Proclamation (yes, there was more than one) is that, by its express terms, it was never intended to end slavery in the U.S. It was issued as “a fit and necessary war tactic” to suppress the rebellion of the southern states by freeing “all persons held as slaves within the designated states.” Accordingly, those slaves held in the slave states that were part of the Union were not covered by the proclamation.

Slavery was legally ended in the U.S. (except as punishment for a crime) by the ratification of the 13th Amendment on December 6, 1865. Nevertheless, Black Americans have continued to claim the joy and victory celebrated on June 19, 1865, as our day of finally becoming free-ish. And this year, Juneteenth has finally been designated a federal holiday . . . ✊🏾 #JuneteenthNationalHoliday #CelebrateJuneteenth