Free-ish Since 1985
As we head into the holiday weekend observed by many in Black Culture for years, there’s even more to celebrate this year. Juneteenth officially becomes a federal holiday as President Biden signs The Juneteenth Independence Day Act.
The celebration which commentates the end of slavery, will become the 12th legal public holiday Juneteenth celebrates the emancipation of the last enslaved African Americans. On June 19 in 1865, Union soldiers arrived in the coastal city of Galveston, Texas, to deliver orders officially ending slavery in the state.
The final act of liberation came months after the Confederate army’s surrender ended the Civil War, and more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
When President Joe Biden signed the bill Thursday there was one woman in the room who captured deserved all the praise. Opal Lee, The Grandmother of Juneteenth, marched for years in Fort Worth and worked for decades on a movement to make Juneteenth a national holiday, The 94-year old activist has lived to see her hard work and contributions make a a real difference during this history making moment. Juneteenth is the longest running African American holiday and the first and the first to become federally observed since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was signed into law in 1983. We Salute to this Queen & Everything she stands for!
