Why every American should celebrate Juneteenth

“Juneteenth means so much to me. It represents the freedom that my ancestors fought so tirelessly for. But rather than focusing on the brutalization of my people then and now. I choose to focus on hope. June 19 reminds me that I am the force of power to change this world and to follow in the footsteps of my ancestors to work towards liberation.” – Mariah Cooley (National Urban League) – Juneteenth originated in the June 19, 1865, federal proclamation that Major General Gordon Granger brought with him when he arrived at Galveston to take command of federal troops deployed to enforce the emancipation of its enslaved population and oversee Reconstruction. Related Stories But it is a narrow view that recognizes Juneteenth simply as a commemoration of the end of legal slavery in the United States. After all, slavery did not officially end in Kentucky and Delaware until December 1865, when the 13th Amendment was ratified. We could view Juneteenth, instead of an end, as a beginning, the birth of possibility and freedom for Black Americans to advance and live as full citizens of the U.S. But the end of Reconstruction and the dawn of Jim Crow crushed that possibility...