This week our nation observed Juneteenth!! It was June 19, 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, and just two months after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered, with the Union Army winning the war, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to take control. He issued General Order No. 3 to inform enslaved people that they were free and that the Civil War was officially over.
This is why we celebrate Juneteenth, because it honors the day all of the enslaved were made aware of the Emancipation Proclamation and were officially legally released from their bonds.
Why is Juneteenth important to us?
Growing up, we didn’t celebrate Juneteenth. I remember hearing a family story about my great great grandmother who lived in Alabama celebrating what we believe was hearing the news of Emancipation. My great grand mother must have told my grandmother who was born in 1889. When I was very young, my gramma told us grandkids about a time when African American down South were jumping up and down all over the place singing for joy about being free. At that time I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about.
Last year, I was invited to attend my first Juneteenth Celebration organized by a friend held at a church in a neighboring town. The service was so enjoyable and made me feel the need to look for other ways to celebrate moving forward. Today, on Juneteenth, I had the chance to wear my Juneteenth pin and have a conversation with about 80 children in all white suburban area ages 3-7 who were attending summer camp where I was leading music. I was excited to see that many of the children were fully aware what national holiday it was. To see the next generation be so curious and engaging about Juneteenth, made me see the power of being intentional in sharing my story. Not one of the children were minorities.
I know nothing about my great great grandmother and very little of my great grandmother Sally. However, today Juneteenth made me think about that day when possibly both women celebrated together upon hearing the news of their freedom. Their dreams being fulfilled in part in me and others as their dream keepers.
Langston Hughes wrote a poem called I Dream A World that my dear friend Rollo Dilworth put to music that captures this dream. Take a listen and I hope Juneteenth will become an important holiday for everyone in our country as we celebrate freedom for all.
Adrienne Reedy
Cornelius Corp. Board Member