Juneteenth is Black Independence Day. On this day in 1865, Black Union soldiers defeated Southern troops at the battle of Palmetto Ranch in Texas, effectively freeing all slaves and ending the Civil War. Texas was the last state to bring back into the United States of America.
Over 200,000 Black soldiers were promised that if they fought for the Union, they would effectively be putting into action what the Emancipation Proclamation guaranteed. In a sense, they were liberating themselves and their brethren.
As declared by Major General Gordon Granger:
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…
Check out the audio slideshow over at NPR that gives true significance to what Juneteenth is, narrated by Hari Jones, a historian at the African-American Civil War Museum.
Happy Juneteenth!
