Juneteenth is a holiday that not many Americans know much about, yet it celebrates a major step towards equality taken by African Americans across the United States. Juneteenth only became a Federally recognized holiday in 2021, yet it has a much deeper and richer history than that.
Sometimes referred to as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, Juneteenth has been celebrated every June 19 since 1865 when General Gordon Granger and Union soldiers marched into formerly Confederate Galveston, Texas and declared that all slaves were free under the Emancipation Proclamation. Even though the American Civil War had ended almost a month earlier in May 26 of 1865, African Americans were still legally considered slaves in many Southern States. It wasn’t until December of that year that the 13th Amendment was ratified nationwide, officially granting all African Americans their legal freedom and banning slavery entirely.
All across the United States African Americans began celebrating their freedom from enslavement, and soon the Black community dedicated June 19 as a day to commemorate for centuries to come. Abolishing slavery was only the first step of many taken towards equality in the United States, and the fight for justice still continues this day, 159 years later. For a more detailed timeline of Black History, check out the magnificent book “History Channel’s Black History Milestones that is updated each year.
This year at Susquehanna University, we have a new resource that students and faculty alike can access and further study Black History, ProQuest’s Catalog of Black Studies. ProQuest is a powerful research tool with thousands of distinct databases, and now, you too can access the Catalog of Black Studies via the link provided above. Much of the information you have read thus far came solely from ProQuest’s Catalog and was easily accessed by simply searching “Juneteenth.”
This single database has hundreds of stories to tell, from newsletters to essays and even videos, and it is only fitting to explore some of them on such a meaningful day. So that’s what I did, I scrolled through some of these fascinating and eye-opening tales of resilience and curiosity from Black voices across the nation, but there was one name that kept popping up.
Opal Lee is one of the most significant figures in Juneteenth’s history, fitting her title as “The Grandmother of Juneteenth.” Across my research I found various articles that referenced her importance as she dedicated her life to making Juneteenth a holiday recognized by all Americans. Her story began as a child when her father told her all about how Juneteenth began. Being a Texan, she felt prideful of the day and wanted to share it with others, so she began her famous walk from Fort Worth, Texas, all the way to Washington D.C. in 2016.
At the age of 89, Lee crossed through 21 states and picked up mass attention from Chicago to Atlanta and gathered over 1.5 million signatures to propose Juneteenth as a National Holiday to Congress, yet she never did make it to the Capitol. This didn’t stop her as she began walking again in 2019 with even more passion than before but could not continue due to the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown.
Just two years later, Lee stood beside President Biden as he signed Juneteenth into Federal Legislation. Her story inspired millions of Americans as now many in Texas celebrate her strong efforts by walking 2.5 miles every June 19, the same distance she would walk every day on the way to D.C. I found much of this information on Lee via ProQuest and particularly liked the article, “The Meaning of Juneteenth – A Blast From The Past That Somehow Escaped Us.“
Juneteenth is a time for remembrance, celebration, unity, and acceptance. A day meant to look back at how far we’ve come and look forward to a brighter and more equal future for people of all kinds to share together. I highly recommend exploring ProQuest’s databases, whether it be to learn something new about our society or to support and share the stories of people who have created it. Look forward to future deep dives into these new resources in this coming fall semester and beyond.
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