Happy Juneteenth! 🎉

Today we celebrate the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth! What is Juneteenth?

Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Cel-Liberation Day or the Black Fourth of July, is an American holiday that commemorates June 19, 1865: the ending of slavery. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863. The document applied only to enslaved people in the Confederacy, and not to those in the border states that remained loyal to the Union.

Slavery in the U.S. started in 1619, when British colonists invaded Africa, kidnapped Africans from their homes, and stored them on ships to be enslaved in the British colonies of America. European colonizers in North America forced Africans into slavery as a cheap, more plentiful labor source than doing the work themselves. From 1619-1865, those enslaved were sold in auctions, forced to do physical labor for free, prohibited from reading and writing, forced to mate and were raped by their masters, and were brutally punished when they rebelled.  

Rodeos, fishing, barbecuing and baseball are just a few of the typical Juneteenth activities you may witness today. Juneteenth almost always focused on education and self improvement. Thus, often guest speakers are brought in and the elders are called upon to recount the events of the past. Prayer services were also a major part of these celebrations. You can celebrate Juneteenth in countless ways from a backyard cookout to an in-home/office pot luck, educating others on Black history in America, and showing your support to the Black community.

Check out our Instagram stories to see how we are celebrating Juneteenth!