Juneteenth commemorates the day on June 19, 1865 when a Union general read orders in Galveston, Texas, stating all enslaved people in the state were free according to federal law. Juneteenth was designated a federal holiday in 2021.
On June 19, 1865, Army troops went to Galveston, Texas, to free the last enslaved Black people in the United States. It was a group of about 250,000 slaves who did not reap the immediate benefits of the Emancipation Proclamation a couple years prior simply because they did not know.
Again, returning to the true meaning of freedom. What does freedom mean to you?
To me, it’s the ability to live freely, think freely, speak freely, and move freely. The bravery of those before me is more than enough reason to keep going. Their resilience, drive, and spirit are certainly the reasons for the Juneteenth season.
Racial injustice and inequality have not disappeared. There will likely always be room for improvement. We are the change agents. We cannot become complacent. We cannot give up. We must always remember and most importantly – we must keep going because one day we will be able to look back and see how far we have come.
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