On Philadelphia’s famed Liberty Bell, one can find the inscription, “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.' The quotation comes from the Bible in Leviticus 25:10. That verse speaks of the Year of Jubilee, a time in ancient Israel when debts were forgiven,…
. It originated in Galveston, Texas, when, on June 19, 1865, the just-arrived Union army announced to the state’s 250,000 enslaved persons that they were free. Annual celebrations quickly arose within the African-American community and have continued up to the present day.Making Juneteenth a national holiday does more than give official recognition to this cherished part of African-American history. It establishes a more complete picture of America’s pursuit of its ideals.
Juneteenth comes 14 days before July 4, the day on which we celebrate these ideals as articulated in the Declaration of Independence. That charter, Thomas Jefferson would say, described the “American mind,” providing a key to our self-understanding. This self-understanding articulated a belief in human equality, especially in the possession of natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Yet, at great cost, America removed the evil of race-based slavery from our midst. The Civil War and its attending constitutional amendments cemented in practice our theoretical commitments. We further fought slavery’s lingering grip in the form of legal racial segregation. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s called us to a better fidelity — for America, as MLK said, to “live out the true meaning of its creed.
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Juneteenth and Black America's Love of HorsesFor Juneteenth, a celebration of the liberation and escape that Black Americans found on horses.
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A beginner's guide to Juneteenth: How can all Americans celebrate?Since it was designated a federal holiday in 2021, Juneteenth has become more universally recognized beyond Black America
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A beginner's guide to Juneteenth: How can all Americans celebrate?Since it was designated a federal holiday in 2021, Juneteenth has become more universally recognized beyond Black America. But how should people mark the holiday on June 19? Juneteenth festivities are rooted in cookouts and barbecues. In the beginnings of the holiday, the outdoors allowed for large, raucous reunions among formerly enslaved family, many of whom had been separated. Today, there are many events like street fairs and celebrations. Others may choose to treat Juneteenth as a day of rest and remembrance. That can mean doing community service, attending an education panel or taking time off.
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A beginner's guide to Juneteenth: How can all Americans celebrate?Since it was designated a federal holiday in 2021, Juneteenth has become more universally recognized beyond Black America
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A beginner's guide to Juneteenth: How can all Americans celebrate?Since it was designated a federal holiday in 2021, Juneteenth has become more universally recognized beyond Black America.
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A beginner's guide to Juneteenth: How can all Americans celebrate?For more than one-and-a-half centuries, the Juneteenth holiday has been sacred to many Black communities.
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