As more attention is placed on civil rights and social justice in the United States, many people are wondering how they can be better allies to Black people and commemorate a fuller, more inclusive, and less white-washed version of American history. On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed a bill to officially recognize Juneteenth as a federal holiday. We talked to college professors to learn about the origins of the holiday and to get suggestions on how to celebrate it.
When Is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth takes place on June 19 every year. In 2022, Juneteenth is celebrated on a Sunday and observed as a federal holiday on Monday.
What Is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth is a holiday in June commemorating the liberation of Black enslaved people in America. When Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas with Major General Gordon Granger on June 19, 1865, they announced the freedom of the enslaved population there. This happened more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, as Union forces were not strong enough in Texas to enforce the new law in 1863. “The significance of Juneteenth is tremendous. While the nation celebrates independence in 1776 during July 4th, there is no national holiday commemorating emancipation,” said Dr. Louis Woods, a Presidential Fellow for Social Justice and Equality and an Associate Professor of History at Middle Tennessee State University. While the holiday has been known by many names, every year since the first Juneteenth, many formerly enslaved people and their descendants have celebrated their freedom across the country. A variety of celebrations including events, specific foods, and historical lessons and reenactments have been maintained as traditions to commemorate Juneteenth. “Juneteenth recognizes one of the United States’ first promises of equality to African Americans following the Civil War,” said Jessica Blake, Assistant Professor of History at Austin Peay State University. Early Juneteenth celebrations involved prayer meetings, educational forums, and picnics. African Americans also strategized how to advance their campaign for racial equality through activism for better-paying jobs, access to education, and safety from harassment and violence, Blake said.
Why Is Juneteenth Significant?
After intense civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, many Americans (Black and non-Black) have given more attention to the Juneteenth holiday and its significance. “The struggle for racial equality has yet to be fulfilled,” Blake said. “Since 2013, the Black Lives Matter movement has drawn attention to the inequalities African Americans continue to face in the United States.” While slavery has been abolished in the U.S., racism hasn’t. Black Americans are still disproportionately more likely hurt or killed in encounters with police, and African American students are 20 percent more likely to drop out of a college-level credential program, Blake said. There continues to be ongoing inequality in areas such as income and employment, healthcare, criminal justice, and education. For many, Juneteenth is a reminder of how far Black people have come while continuing to move toward racial equality. “For me, it is important to recognize that Black people are the inheritors of a 20-generation-long struggle for freedom,” Woods said. “We owe an impossible debt to our ancestors for getting us to this point, and we honor them by building a legacy and creating opportunities for generations yet unborn.”
How to Celebrate Juneteenth
Woods says there’s no “correct” way to celebrate Juneteenth, so it’s open to improvisation. Most people spend it with family and friends at a cookout. If you’re looking for ideas, here are some historical and modern ways that Juneteenth can be celebrated in 2022:
