History Of Juneteenth
History shows, President Abraham Lincoln with the urging of Abolitionist Frederick Douglass, issued The Emancipation Proclamation Executive Order effective January 1, 1863, stating African- Americans were free in Confederate States and private homes. African American soldiers were sent to those states to read various parts of the Proclamation. To be sure, the 13th Amendment put an end to slavery; but the Western most Confederate states including Texas continued to enslave African-Americans. On June 19, 1865, 2,000 soldiers marched into Galveston, TX to free over 250k slaves.
This momentous occasion was entitled Juneteenth because the actual date of freedom in Texas occurred between June 13–19,1865. The event declined and was not celebrated widely until the Civil Rights Movement. It was recognized by Dr. Martin L. King, Jr during The Poor Peoples Campaign for Economic Power when he held the Juneteenth Solidarity Day. The first state sponsored Celebration was in 1980 in Texas.
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