Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, is a holiday celebrated across the country on June 19.
The Martha’s Vineyard Times sat down with several local leaders in the African American community for a video story that documents their experience and understanding of Juneteenth, why they celebrate it, and how people can celebrate it.
It commemorates and recognizes the end of slavery. The origins of Juneteenth trace back to 1865, when Union soldiers, led by Major Gen. Gordon Granger, arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that the Civil War had ended, and all enslaved individuals were now free.
Juneteenth holds particular significance, as it symbolizes the belated arrival of freedom and the resilience of African Americans throughout history. It serves as a day to remember the struggles and sacrifices of those who fought against slavery and oppression, and it honors their contributions to the nation’s progress.
Carrie Tankard, the co-founder of the African American Heritage Trail of Martha’s Vineyard (AAHT MV), believes that celebrating Juneteenth is a way of honoring her ancestors, who fought selflessly for their freedom. “I celebrate Juneteenth because of the people who don’t realize that they were the first ones to do it,” Tankard said. “The people in Galveston, Texas, didn’t know for two and a half years … that they had been emancipated. So they were not only enslaved, but they were the last to know that they were free.”
Larry Jones, director of outreach and docent tour guide along the Heritage Trail, shared his perspective during a tour of Oak Bluffs: “It’s a culmination of all the work that was done prior to that date. The work done by the abolitionists, the freedom riders, people like Paul Cuffe, Frederick Douglass, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, all abolitionists; all those people playing a role in trying to get the moral fabric of America to agree that slavery should not exist here and that all men should be free,” Jones said.
Toni Kauffman, the Vineyard chapter president of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), spoke about the organization’s involvement with the celebration: “Juneteenth to me symbolizes more than just a holiday, it symbolizes the being of African American history, and how we have been a part of this nation.”
There are a number of events planned for this weekend and Monday, June 19. That includes a tour of a replica of a ship that was taken over in a slave revolt; talks and film screenings; and other celebrations. Check out our Community and Calendar sections to learn more about these events.
No slave was free on Juneteenth 1865. Slavery did NOT end in the United States until December 6, 1865, six months AFTER Juneteenth. A general reading a piece of paper in Texas doesn’t amend the US Constitution. Fighting a civil war doesn’t amend the US Constitution. A Presidential Executive Order called the Emancipation Proclamation doesn’t amend the US Constitution.
Only the 13th amendment ended Slavery.
Ken, do you think that the freeing the slaves should be celebrated?
If so, is the actual day important?
We became independent from Great Britain on January 14.
We celebrate it on Independence Day, July 4.
What’s up with that?
We celebrate Christmas on December 25.
We have no idea what day Jesus was born.
Or Santa Clause.
Kenneth –The word “slave” does not appear in the constitution.
There was never any constitutional right for one person to own another.
In fact it is stated in the declaration of independence that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
That’s the founding document of our country.
While the 13th amendment “amended” the constitution, it did not change anything that was already in it.
The emancipation proclamation was exactually what you say it was– an executive order– it freed slaves.
Texas in effect ignored that executive order for 2 1/2 years. But when the general of the victorious union army rode into town with 2,000 armed soldiers, and read a piece of paper to the last of the slave “owners” that their 250,000 slaves were now free people, slavery was over.
250,000 people in Texas woke up on June 19th 1865 as slaves. They went to sleep that night as free people. They were free because that general read that piece of paper on that day. It’s a dammed good day to pick to celebrate.
On Dec 6 1865, they were guaranteed that they would not be forced back into bondage after the soldiers left.
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