Many of us never learned in school about Juneteenth. We may have learned about General Lee's surrender at Appomattox or President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation as the end of slavery in America, but for many African Americans it would actually be two and half years that they were freed.
In Galveston, TX on June 19, 1865 federal troops arrived to take over Texas and impose General Gordon Granger's order No. 3 that all slaves were free and had equal rights.
This day has been celebrated as Jubilee Day or Freedome Day in various places since then, but now nationwide we celebrate it as Juneteenth.
No matter what the law says, if you don't know you have rights you don't really have rights.
West Virginia Governor Jim Justice has enacted a proclamation making Juneteenth a paid holiday for state workers, to be celebrated this year on Friday, June 18. https://governor.wv.gov/Documents/2021%20Proclamations/Juneteenth-%2006-17-21.pdf
At West Virginia Senior Legal Aid we celebrate liberty and justice on Juneteenth, and everyday we strive to continue the fight for racial equity in our state and across the country and the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment