Juneteenth marks freedom for all

June 19, 2022 | By Caitlin Frauton

Did you know that July 4, 1776, only represents the day that white male Americans became free? We celebrate Juneteenth (a combination of the words "June" and "Nineteenth") to commemorate June 19, 1865, the day which slavery officially ended in our country and granted independence to Black communities who waited an additional 89 years after the Declaration of Independence to become free.

In 2021, President Joe Biden made Juneteenth a federal holiday. Because it falls on a Sunday, the U.S. Postal Service, federal offices, some banks and other organizations will be closed in observance on Monday, June 20.

It's a popular belief that Abraham Lincoln ended slavery, though it took two whole years after the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of the Civil War for 250,000 slaves to be freed. Juneteenth celebrates the day when all slaves were finally granted freedom, making it an essential day in America's quest to live up to its founding ideal that all people are created equal.

And as we celebrate this incredibly important American holiday this month, it's also important to remember that history is never simple. The ratification of the 13th Amendment (also in 1865) abolished slavery in the United States, with the “exception as a punishment for a crime.” This created a loophole that was used to keep many Black people in a perpetual state of slavery for years after the official end of slavery. For instance, in South Carolina there were vagrancy laws that could jail “persons who lead idle or disorderly lives” and other laws that allowed white employers to take Black children from their homes for labor if they could prove that the parents were destitute, unfit or vagrants (which wasn’t hard to do when Black people had virtually no voice in the judicial system).

Today, the very same clause in the 13th Amendment still has a massive impact on communities of color, especially American descendants of slavery, in the United States.

Want to learn more? Watch this 3.5 minute video "This Is Why Juneteenth Is Important for America."

And to learn more about how our nation's history of slavery still deeply impacts minority communities to this day, watch the movie “13th” which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary and winner of a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Documentary. Netflix made it free to everyone on YouTube so no subscription is needed!

Juneteenth is simultaneously a celebration of emancipation and an acknowledgment that freedom and justice have always been delayed for Black people in America. During June, the Waterbury Area Anti-Racism Coalition is sharing historical snippets from the time period of the original Juneteenth in 1865 to illuminate the ongoing struggles and successes to realize America’s potential for freedom and justice amid ongoing pushback and delays. Look for posts on Front Porch Forum and Facebook.

Sources:

The History Channel: This Day In History June 19

The History Channel: Reconstruction Timeline

Wikipedia: "13th" (film)

Caitlin Fraughton is a member of the Waterbury Area Anti-Racism Coalition.