What is Juneteenth?
This piece was written by Modern Sales Pros DE&I Committee Member, Dhruti M., and has been adapted from CentralSquare’s Intersections – A BIPOC & Allies ERG group.
Juneteenth is an annual observance to celebrate the date Union soldiers enforced the Emancipation Proclamation freeing all remaining slaves in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865. The Emancipation Proclamation declared on September 22, 1862, in effect on Jan 1, 1863 didn’t reach the last of the confederate states until June 19, 1865. Although the rumors of freedom were widespread, it took General Gordon Granger’s arrival in Galveston, Texas, and his issuance of General Order #3 to announce the actual emancipation.
Celebrations of Juneteenth that started in Texas made their way across state lines, one person, one family, one carload or train ticket at a time. With the migration of African Americans from Texas to the West Coast, the celebrations of Juneteenth grew in the emerging black communities of Los Angeles, San Diego, Oakland, Portland, and Seattle.
During the Jim Crow and Civil Rights Movement, the celebrations saw a decline but were rediscovered in the early 1980’s by local activists. In the late 90’s, Congress passed a resolution officially recognizing June 19 as Juneteenth Independence Day, and in 2021, 47 states and DC have established either full or partial recognition of the holiday.
The Juneteenth flag was designed by Ben Haith and fine-tuned by illustrator LF Graf. The flag includes a red arc, blue background, and a star of Texas bursting with new freedom throughout the land, over a new horizon. The red, white, and blue colors represent the American flag and as a reminder that slaves and their descendants were and are Americans.
Juneteenth celebrations focus on education, history, self-improvement, culture, and pride. As the Intersections, a BIPOC and Allies ERG, we invite you to learn more about Juneteenth through these sources as well as your own research:
Smithsonian, National Museum of African American History & Culture – Celebrating Juneteenth
PBS.org – The African Americans; Many Rivers to Cross by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Blackpast.org – Juneteenth: The Growth of an African American Holiday
Penguin Random House (book) – The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
And, we hope you’ll dive into our DE&I Resources for Revenue Leaders for further self-development.