About Juneteenth, the Oldest Known U.S. Celebration of the End of Slavery
by Roy L. Williams, Public Relations Director at the Birmingham Public Library
On Tuesday, June 19, 2018, African Americans across the United States celebrated Juneteenth, the oldest known national celebration of the end of slavery. Also called Emancipation Day, it marks the day black slaves learned that President Abraham Lincoln had on January 1, 1863, issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing them. Most slaves did not receive word of Lincoln’s action until over two years later in June 1865, thus the name Juneteenth.
Many African Americans mark the Juneteenth anniversary much like the Fourth of July with parties, musical entertainment, picnics, and other public events. The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute holds Juneteenth celebrations every year. The Birmingham Public Library’s 19 locations have several resources about Juneteenth.
Here are some interesting facts about Juneteenth, courtesy of CNN :
On Tuesday, June 19, 2018, African Americans across the United States celebrated Juneteenth, the oldest known national celebration of the end of slavery. Also called Emancipation Day, it marks the day black slaves learned that President Abraham Lincoln had on January 1, 1863, issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing them. Most slaves did not receive word of Lincoln’s action until over two years later in June 1865, thus the name Juneteenth.
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| Juneteenth Emancipation Day Celebration, June 19, 1900, Texas Wikimedia Commons |
Many African Americans mark the Juneteenth anniversary much like the Fourth of July with parties, musical entertainment, picnics, and other public events. The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute holds Juneteenth celebrations every year. The Birmingham Public Library’s 19 locations have several resources about Juneteenth.
Here are some interesting facts about Juneteenth, courtesy of CNN :
- 153 – Years since Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger (Union Army) first read the proclamation, General Orders, No. 3, in Galveston, Texas, notifying slaves of their emancipation, on June 19, 1865.
- January 1, 1863 – Date President Abraham Lincoln issued the final Proclamation, freeing those enslaved.
- 901 – Days in between the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation and General Orders, No. 3.
- 13th – Amendment to the US Constitution that abolished slavery.
- 3,953,760 – Estimated number of slaves in the United States in 1860.
- 500,000 – Estimated number of free blacks in the United States in 1860. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, about half were in the North and half were in the South.
- 15 – States where it was legal to have slaves before the Civil War: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
- 45 – States with laws or resolutions celebrating Juneteenth.
- January 1, 1980 – Juneteenth became a state holiday in Texas, although it had been celebrated informally since 1865.
- 45,133,880 – African Americans (one race alone or in combination) in the United States in 2016, according to the most recent Census Bureau estimate.
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