Juneteenth: A Library Guide

Photograph from Juneteenth Emancipation Day celebration, June 19, 1900 Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

The Town of Arlington is celebrating Juneteenth Independence Day on June 19 for the second time since 2021, honoring the day (June 19, 1865) when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas were made aware of the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth has been celebrated in African-American communities since 1866, but wasn’t officially recognized as a state observed holiday in Massachusetts until recently.

WHAT IS JUNETEENTH?

Emancipation Day, Richmond, Va., 1905 – from Library of Congress

Juneteenth, also called Emancipation Day, or Juneteenth Independence Day, is a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, observed annually on June 19.

In 1863, during the American Civil War, Pres. Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared more than three million enslaved individuals living in the Confederate states to be free.

More than two years would pass, however, before the news reached African Americans living in Texas. It was not until Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, that the state’s residents finally learned that slavery had been abolished. The former enslaved individuals immediately began to celebrate with prayer, feasting, song, and dance.

The following year, on June 19, the first official Juneteenth celebrations took place in Texas. The original observances included prayer meetings and the singing of spirituals, and celebrants wore new clothes as a way of representing their newfound freedom. Within a few years, African Americans in other states were celebrating the day as well, making it an annual tradition. Celebrations have continued across the United States into the 21st century and typically include prayer and religious services, speeches, educational events, family gatherings and picnics, and festivals with music, food, and dancing.

Juneteenth became a state holiday in Texas in 1980, and a number of other states subsequently followed suit. The day is also celebrated outside the United States, with organizations in a number of countries using the day to recognize the end of slavery and to celebrate the culture and achievements of African Americans.

“Juneteenth.” Britannica Library, Encyclopædia Britannica, 12 Mar. 2021. library.eb.com/levels/referencecenter/article/Juneteenth/438704. Accessed 22 May. 2021.

WHY IS JUNETEENTH IMPORTANT?

Vox: A historian explains the history and significance of the holiday.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

The Emancipation Proclamation (page 1) Record Group 11 General Records of the United States – National Archives Catalog

Emancipation Proclamation: (1863) Edict issued by U.S. Pres. Abraham Lincoln that freed the slaves of the Confederacy. On taking office, Lincoln was concerned with preserving the Union and wanted only to prevent slavery from expanding into the Western territories; but, after the South seceded, there was no political reason to tolerate slavery. In September 1862 he called on the seceded states to return to the Union or have their slaves declared free. When no state returned, he issued the proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863. The edict had no power in the Confederacy, but it provided moral inspiration for the North and discouraged European countries from supporting the South. It also had the practical effect of permitting recruitment of African Americans for the Union army; by 1865 nearly 180,000 African American soldiers had enlisted. The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1865, officially abolished slavery in the entire country. [Read More]

Emancipation Proclamation. (2017). In Encyclopaedia Britannica, Britannica concise encyclopedia. Britannica Digital Learning. Credo Reference: http://arlproxy.minlib.net/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/ebconcise/emancipation_proclamation/0?institutionId=2156

13th Amendment: Passed by Congress on January 31st, 1865, and ratified on December 6th, 1865, the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States.

The 13th Amendment passed the Senate on April 8th, 1864, and the House on January 31st, 1865. On February 1st, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln approved the Joint Resolution of Congress submitting the proposed amendment to the state legislatures. The necessary number of states ratified it by December 6th, 1865. The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” [Read More]

Section 5.3 13TH AMENDMENT AND ABOLITION OF SLAVERY. (2021). In J. Maniloff (Ed.), Diversity series: Understanding and navigating discrimination in America. Omnigraphics, Inc. Credo Reference: http://arlproxy.minlib.net/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/ogiand/section_5_3_13th_amendment_and_abolition_of_slavery/0?institutionId=2156

Major-General Granger’s General Orders #3: On June 19, 1865, two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln’s historic Emancipation Proclamation, U.S. Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3, which informed the people of Texas that all enslaved people were now free. Granger commanded the Headquarters District of Texas, and his troops had arrived in Galveston the previous day.

General Order No. 3, issued by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, June 19, 1865. The order was written in a volume beginning on one page and continuing to the next. (RG 393, Part II, Entry 5543, District of Texas, General Orders Issued)  

The official handwritten record of General Order No. 3, is preserved at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. [See National Archives blog]

Davis, M. (2021, May 21). National Archives Safeguards Original ‘Juneteenth’ General Order. National Archives. Retrieved June 6, 2022, from https://www.archives.gov/news/articles/juneteenth-original-document

LOCAL

THE LEGACY OF ELIZABETH FREEMAN

Elizabeth Freeman, aged 70. Painted by Susan Ridley Sedgwick, aged 23 (1812) – Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

The commerce of slavery was deeply integrated into the Massachusetts economy in the 18th century. Many white colonists, including Colonel John Ashley, who owned Ashley House and the surrounding fields in the 1700s, used enslaved laborers.

There were five enslaved people in the Ashley House including a woman named Bett. Her riveting story endures today. Bett could not read or write, but when she heard Ashley and other locals discussing the drafting of the Sheffield Resolves in 1773, she heard repeated a statement that she realized should apply to her and her fellow enslaved people: RESOLVED: That mankind in a state of nature are equal, free and independent of each other and have a right to the undisturbed enjoyment of their lives, their liberty and property.

After similar language was included in the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780, Bett sought out a lawyer, sued for her freedom, and her case prevailed. As a free person, she then changed her name to Elizabeth Freeman and lived out the rest of her long life as a beloved member of the community of Stockbridge, MA.

It was because of Bett’s courage and determination that the institution of slavery was finally abolished in Massachusetts. In her honor, we celebrate Elizabeth Freeman Day in Massachusetts every year on August 21, the day her freedom was won. [Read More]

The Trustees of Reservations. (2021, April 15). The Legacy of Elizabeth Freeman. Retrieved June 6, 2022, from https://thetrustees.org/content/elizabeth-freeman-fighting-for-freedom/

MORE RESOURCES

Washington Post: Juneteenth has taken on a symbolic national reverence as the day news of the Emancipation Proclamation finally reached Texas, but, in reality, the emancipation proclamation didn’t end slavery, and neither did the civil war. Reporter Nicole Ellis revisits Galveston, Texas, where General Gordon Granger delivered an order that emancipated 250,000 enslaved people in Texas. Granger clarifying words on the value of black life in America distinguishes Juneteenth as emancipation day. But our ability to live up to that ideal as a nation is best measured in, the days, weeks, and years that followed.

Celebrate

Arlington’s Annual Juneteenth Celebration

This year RepHAIRations will be hosting its annual Juneteenth celebration in partnership with the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Division. The shop will be celebrating both its two year anniversary of opening and Juneteenth! 

This is an all ages event. Stay tuned for more details.

If there are questions please reach out to info@rephairations.com or dei@town.arlington.ma.us

06/19/2022 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM 
RepHAIRations
1339 Massachusetts Ave
Arlington, Massachusetts 02476

See also:
[Boston Common Visitor Center] Juneteenth Boston, 2022

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