150 Year of Juneteenth: More than a Holiday--A Movement
So, there are several people I know who feel as though they should not celebrate Juneteenth. This is sad, because they have unfortunately believed the hype that the Emancipation Proclamation freed our enslaved ancestors AND, to make matters worse, they also believed that folks in Texas âgot the news lateâ and were told of our freedom two years after we supposedly gained it. This could not be further from the truth! Now, gather 'round chirren whilst I tell you the true story of Juneteenth: On this day, June 19, 1865, 148 years ago today, African American Buffalo Soldiers (the 26th Colored Infantry) entered Texas and freed enslaved Africans. While the Union fought the Confederacy in the Confederate capital of Richmond, VA, these soldiers took it upon themselves to began freeing the enslaved population there. Remember, the Emancipation Proclamation was written by the president of the Union (Abraham Lincoln). Therefore, the Confederacy did not honor it because they had already seceded and were no longer a part of America. So, these African soldiers heard about this document and took matters into their own hands. Many joined the army just to free Blacks in the south. This wasnât a theoretical freedom they envisioned would happen after the war. No, they began an insurrection in the Union ranks, having to fight against the Union and Confederacy simultaneously. Lead by commanding officer Garland White, who traveled to Virginia with his soldiers in the 26th Infantry to free his mother, the soldiers began an insurrection at the Confederate capital and then moved their efforts south and southwest. This is why each southern state has a different emancipation day. Along their journey to liberate enslaved Africans, they increased their numbers, and several thousand formerly enslaved Africans joined the 26th Infantryâs ranks. Their action would go on to spawn the largest slave revolt never recorded that spanned one year and involved free and enslaved Africans. Texas was the last state to be freed by virtue of geography. Gordon Granger, the white man credited with bringing the word of freedom to enslaved Africans in Texas, actually rode to Galveston to surrender to the 26th Infantry because the Confederacyâs numbers had already been depleted by the Unionâs white forces. Also, many of these plantations had no security because the men and their firepower had gone to other states to battle with the Union soldiers in the official war. Our ancestors in the 26th Infantry knew that these plantations were abandoned and took action to free enslaved Africans while the southâs defenses were down. This was a tactical strategy. Virginiaâs Africans freed themselves in 1864 and proceeded to free all other enslaved Africans in the south. They proceeded to burn the south to smoldering ashes as a consequence. Seen âGone With the Windâ? Remember the scene when the Union soldiers burned the city down? That was actually an aspect of our narrative rewritten by Hollywood. Black soldiers burned down the south, not federal troops. The federal government wanted to reassume control over the seceded states. Why would they burn the south down? Until 1862, Blacks were outlawed from joining the American military. Not just because they were Black, but because Washington & Jefferson feared an insurrection due to what happened in Haiti. Any coincidence that it happened anyway? That is why they revised the Juneteenth history. The Union only allowed Black soldiers to join the Civil War efforts to reduce the population of Blacks in the country. Lincolnâs original plan for Africans after the war was not to integrate the society, but to sell us to countries like Cuba and Brazil, where slavery was still de jure, until 1885 and 1888, respectively. He wanted to neutralize the debt accrued due to the Civil War and get rid of us in the process. The reason most Black families in Texas, and elsewhere, have their family reunions on/around Juneteenth is because this day marked the day we freed ourselves. This day was also poignant because it meant that our ancestors could go and reunite with their family members. So, celebrate this day and those Black men who freed us! Go to the primary sources in the archives of libraries and museums and you will see transcribed interviews and firsthand accounts written about this phenomenal day! Happy Juneteenth!
