Juneteenth

The Historical Background of Juneteenth

Kelly Navies, museum specialist and oral historian:

​​​​​​​ “Throughout the war, Texas remained largely free of the presence of Union troops. A year after General Granger’s announcement, Texans celebrated the first Juneteenth. However, African Americans had to overcome many challenges in the years after learning of their ‘freedom.’ Many states, including Texas, passed stringent laws curtailing the movement and actions of the newly freed men and women. Those in power also attempted to thwart the observance of Juneteenth by denying large groups of African Americans access to land on which to celebrate. In response to this strategy, in 1872, Black Houstonians, under the leadership of Rev. Jack Yates, a formerly enslaved man, formed the Colored People and Emancipation Park Association to purchase a plot of land that could be used for Juneteenth celebrations. This plot of land became known as Emancipation Park and throughout the era of segregation it was the only public park open to African Americans in Houston, Texas. In other towns throughout the South, similar strategies were used to secure safe spaces for Juneteenth observance."

The Meaning of Juneteenth Through Social Justice Movements

Juneteenth gained popularity during the Civil Rights Movement with the increased emphasis on Black history and empowerment. At the end of the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign, held on the National Mall, there was a ‘Solidarity Day,’ held on Juneteenth. Many who attended had never heard of Juneteenth and subsequently took their new knowledge to their hometowns across the United States. The significance of Juneteenth is part of a continuum of moments where African Americans have advocated for their full participation in American citizenship and commanded the maintenance of the memory of our history and culture in the face of resistance and racism.

What is the significance of Juneteenth?

Angela Tate, museum curator of women’s history

“The holiday did not exist when Frederick Douglass delivered his stirring speech about Independence Day. By the turn of the twentieth century, Black leaders such as W.E.B. Du Bois focused efforts on commemorating anniversaries of Emancipation Day (1913, 1933). Black History Month grew out of Negro History Week, which Carter G. Woodson founded February 7, 1926, to commemorate the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Martin Luther King’s birthday was not made a federal holiday until 1983. The significance of Juneteenth is, thus, part of a continuum of moments where African Americans have advocated for their full participation in American citizenship and commanded the maintenance of the memory of our history and culture in the face of resistance and racism.”

How is Juneteenth celebrated?

Kelly Navies, museum specialist and oral historian:

“Juneteenth is celebrated in a variety of ways throughout the United States and world, but consistent themes are an emphasis on family, freedom, activism, and resilience. Most communities celebrate with a feast centered around a barbeque. Often there are historic-themed performances and poetry readings. You might also see African drumming and dancing. The color red is an important symbol of the sacrifices made in the past, and many people wear red and bring red side dishes to the feast, like red beans, watermelon, and red soda pop.”

Why is the day called Juneteenth?

Kelly Navies, museum specialist and oral historian:

“The holiday’s name Juneteenth is a combination of the month of June and the 19th day, representing the date in 1865 General Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas with a force of almost 2000 troops to inform the enslaved African Americans in Texas that they were now “free.” June + 19 = Juneteenth.”

How has the holiday evolved over the years?

Angela Tate, museum curator of women’s history

“As with many things involving African American history and culture, Juneteenth is not without its own debates and detractors. Recent efforts to generate support for making it a national holiday have been met with resistance. Several Black Texans have been critical of how the state and Southern culture have been excised from the conversations and commemorations. Chaédria LaBouvier, the first Black curator at the Guggenheim Museum, tweeted in late 2020 about the lack of specificity when discussing Juneteenth and the Southern roots of African American culture:

‘Histories, practices, etc that traceably originate or were developed as we currently iterate them in places that we are not living descendants of said history or ppl – we are doing the toxic, colonial thing to each other that has been done to us.’

“This sharp reminder of Juneteenth’s cultural roots is echoed in a letter to the editor sent to the Atlanta Daily World in 1983, when Texas State Representative Al Edwards reminded Atlanta readers that ‘Juneteenth celebrations originated here in Texas...In 1979 the 66th Legislature passed and the Governor signed my H.B. 1016 which going into effect next year made Emancipation Day an official state holiday.’ When digging even further into Black newspapers, the evidence of Texas being at the heart of Juneteenth is clear: newspaper articles from the first half of the twentieth century characterize it as a strictly Texas holiday, whereas in the second half of twentieth century, it has flourished in a variety of cities, with Los Angeles being the most prevalent city of celebration.

“This is no coincidence: California was the destination for African Americans from Texas and Louisiana in the 1940s-70s, undoubtedly drawn by the continuous sunshine and the similar ethnic populations (it was split amongst black, white, and brown, as opposed to the black and white binary in the rest of the South). However, even Black newspapers from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sacramento reveal how often Juneteenth was merely an excuse to gather over food, drinks, and music. At one celebration held in 1988, the usual red soda and funk was swapped out for finger foods as guests listened to classical music! Later, in the early 2000s, Black leaders saw in Juneteenth a piece of the overall push for reparations and federal acknowledgement and redress for the harms of slavery and Jim Crow.”

What is the significance of the color red and Juneteenth?

Kelly Navies, museum specialist and oral historian:

Each year when my family celebrates Juneteenth, our flyers boldly request that each guest bring something “Red.” We then add examples, like red soda pop, watermelon, apples, or even red beans. Folks bring these items without much thinking about their origin. In fact, the roots of the symbolic efficacy of the color Red can be traced to West Africa, where it has been associated with strength, spirituality, life, and death. Furthermore, culinary historians, trace the color to certain foods that traveled to the Americas along with the Africans during the trans-Atlantic slave trade, such as hibiscus and the Kola nut. So, this year at Juneteenth, as you take a long swallow from a cool drink of hibiscus iced tea, or red punch, remember the ancestors who sacrificed, remember the blood shed in the struggle, remember the collective strength of people of the African diaspora, and finally remember the spirituality and transcendent joy that enabled us to overcome.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture’s curator of women’s history Angela Tate and museum specialist and oral historian Kelly Navies provide history and insight on Juneteenth.

Source: nmaahc.si.edu