Juneteenth Matters

This weekend, people from all across the United States will celebrate the oldest commemorative event called Juneteenth.Juneteenth marks our country's second Independence Day.Observed on June 19th, celebrations can range from a day to the entire month of June depending on the region where people live. You may be saying to yourself, I've never heard of this day of celebration, where did it come from? This is why celebrating Juneteenth matters.

Written as an official document, the Emancipation Proclamation, declared an end to slavery in the southern states by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863.Unfortunately for more than 250,000 people, remained enslaved for almost two and a half years in the state of Texas. Many Americans are unaware of this sad reality.

For years, Juneteenth has been celebrated locally by the African American community. In 1980, it became a Texas state holiday. Today, it still remains largely unknown by many Americans.Now gaining national recognition, this past week,Congress unanimously passed a bill to establish Juneteenth as a federal holiday, sending it to President Joe Biden's desk to be signed.The legislation was previously blocked by conservatives but this past week, the bill was allowed to advance out of the chambers.

In an interview with long-term educator, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Africology and African American Studies at Eastern Michigan University and current part-time lecturer in the AfroAmerican and African Studies department at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Dr. Ronald Woods, has spent close to 50 years teaching in the departments centered around the African Diaspora. He says, "in 1968 the year of Dr. King's death, it was the Poor People March, out of it, the word of Juneteenth became more widely known. It was in the 1980s and 90s that Juneteenth began being practiced more regularly". Dr. Woods goes on to say that by the 90s, Rev Mosley called a greater recognition of a wider call to celebrate Juneteenth, which from that point on, it began to spread nationwide.

Locally here in Detroit and the surrounding communities, programs included reading of the Emancipation Proclamation, educational exhibits, a Juneteenth Film Festival, performances, food and activities will take place. Keeping with the times, this year Juneteenth also had a virtual aspect to it. Just google Juneteenth and you are sure to find an event.