Freedom, two and a half years late: the story of Juneteenth

[00:00:00]The Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved people in the Confederate States on January 1st, 1863.

[00:00:07]But for many, such as the slaves in Texas, that freedom didn't arrive for another 2 and 1/2 years. And the reason wasn't distance, and it wasn't slow mail. The news had reached Texas, but a proclamation only means something when there's someone there to enforce it. And until the war's end, there weren't enough Union troops in Texas to make freedom real. So for more than 250,000 people, slavery continued. Legally over, still lived.

[00:00:33]That changed on June 19th, 1865.

[00:00:36]Union troops reached Galveston, and and General Order Number 3 was read. All enslaved people in Texas were free. The people who'd waited gave that day its own name, Juneteenth. And they began celebrating it 1 year later in 1866.

[00:00:51]It took until 2021 to become a national holiday, but it's been worth remembering for 161 years. Wishing you a meaningful Juneteenth.