January 1, This Day in History – June 19th: Juneteenth, the End of Slavery in the U.S.

On this day, June 19th, in 1865, a monumental step toward equality and justice was made in the United States – the end of slavery in Texas, the last stronghold of the Confederate states. Known as Juneteenth, this day commemorates the announcement made by Union General Gordon Granger in Galveston, proclaiming that all enslaved people were now free.

Although President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation had legally freed slaves in Confederate states over two years earlier, on January 1, 1863, the news did not reach Texas until after the Civil War had ended.

The arrival of General Granger and 2,000 Union troops in Galveston ensured the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation, marking the end of slavery in the United States. Granger read General Order No. 3, stating: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”

Juneteenth, a portmanteau of “June” and “nineteenth,” has since been celebrated as African American Emancipation Day. It’s a day of reflection and rejoicing, acknowledging the struggles and the victories in the fight for civil rights.