Juneteenth, Growing in Substance, is a Chance to Celebrate Freedom With Greater Activism, Black Leaders Say

By Hamil R. Harris | Trice Edney Wire Rev. Amos Brown (TriceEdneyWire.com) – Even though President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, he was forced to send federal troops down to Galveston, Texas, to read and post General Order Number 3 on June 19, 1865. That was because some enslaved people had not been freed. Therefore, under the command of Major General Gordan Granger, the soldiers marched through the streets of Galveston from the courthouse to the “Negro church” and posted the following order: “The people of Texas are informed that, by a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former enslavers and enslaved people, and the connection between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere. By order of Major General Granger.” Melanie Campbell Due to this extraordinary moment in Galveston, June 19, 2021 officially became a national holiday in the U....