If you look at your calendar for this week, you might notice a holiday alert appearing on 19 June: Juneteenth. And while Juneteenth is an important day across the Atlantic, it doesn't have the same significance over here in the UK. Celebrating the end of slavery, Juneteenth is an 156-year-old holiday that has history going back all the way to the American Civil War. Here's everything you need to know:
What is Juneteenth?
To understand the significance of Juneteenth, you need to know the background surrounding the holiday, including the American Civil War. Let’s start with the basics – from 1861 to 1865, the US was at war with itself over the issue of slavery. The country was divided in two: North vs. South. The Union (the North) was the official national government of the United States of America under President Abraham Lincoln and consisted of 20 free states and the five border states that supported it. The Confederacy (the South) was the Confederate States of America, seven states who believed in slavery and white supremacy, and had conceded from the Union.
On 1 January 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order by President Lincoln, came into play and changed the legal status of over 3.5 million people in the South from enslaved to free. Under this order, as soon as an enslaved person escaped the Confederacy, either by crossing the border into Union territory or by federal troops, that person was permanently free.
Two years later, in April 1865 the Confederate army surrendered to the Union and the war ended, bringing the Emancipation Proclamation into effect over the entire country. However, Texas, one of the most remote Southern states, had a low presence of Union troops, so the new laws were being enforced slowly and inconsistently.
Then, on 19 June 1865, Union army general Gorgon Granger announced in Galveston, Texas that under federal orders, all enslaved people in the state of Texas were now free.
Is Juneteenth an official holiday in the US?
It is now, yes. On 17 June 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, officially making Juneteenth a federally-recognised holiday in the US.
Juneteenth was recognised for the first time in the late 1970s and the date was declared a ‘holiday of significance’ in the state of Texas. On 1 January 1980, it was made an official state holiday in Texas.
How was the first Juneteenth celebrated?
In June of 1866, Juneteenth was officially celebrated for the first time. In the beginning, the holiday was only celebrated in Texas through barbecues, prayer gatherings, community parades and traditional song and dance. It wasn’t easy to celebrate the holiday, though, as African-American citizens were barred from using public property and had to use rural areas such as river beds and creeks as a base for the festivities. Churches were another common place to celebrate.
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How is Juneteenth celebrated now?
In modern times, Juneteenth has been a day of joy and celebration in the US for Black communities, with friends and families coming together for cookouts, street fairs, historical re-enactments and even Miss Juneteenth contests.
What has Donald Trump said about Juneteenth?
Perhaps not surprisingly, President Trump has found himself embroiled in controversy surrounding Juneteenth as he planned his first public campaign rally since the Covid-19 pandemic for 19 June 2020 in Tulsa Oklahoma. This was met with backlash both due to the date and the location, as Tulsa in the scene of the murders of 300 Black people in 1921.
Trump ended up rescheduling his rally to the 20 June, but the issue doesn’t stop there. Speaking in an interview with the{href='https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-talks-juneteenth-john-bolton-economy-in-wsj-interview-11592493771' target='blank' rel='nofollow class='add-referrer-link'}[Wall noopener noreferrer'}_, the president said that he and his staff didn’t understand the uproar over the Tulsa rally as they had never heard of the holiday – or its meaning – until a Black Secret Service agent explained it to him. He then took credit for popularising the holiday.
‘I did something good: I made Juneteenth very famous,’ he told the Journal. ‘It’s actually an important event, an important time. But nobody had ever heard of it.’
It is worth noting that in 2019 the Trump White House released a statement commemorating the holiday.
Why is Juneteenth relevant now?
It's no surprise that Juneteenth has garnered a lot of attention in recent years as Black Lives Matters protests continue to sweep the world. Following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless others due to police brutality and systemic racism, the world has been aflame with activists demanding justice and change. Not to mention, many protestors have been calling for the removal of statues commemorating Confederate soldiers.
Perhaps the recognition of Juneteenth is relevant now, more than ever.
Want to educate yourself on racism but don't know where to start? Follow our guide on what to watch:
What to watch to educate yourself about racism
1 of 23Dear White People
A Netflix series following several Black college students at a largely white Ivy League school – based on the film of the same name (which can be rented on Amazon Prime).
2 of 23Fruitvale Station
Michael B Jordan stars in this biographical film about the events leading to the death of Oscar Grant, who was killed in 2009 by a BART police officer, Johannes Mehserle. Available to watch on Netflix.
3 of 23Malcolm X
A biographical film of activist Malcolm X, directed and co-written by Spike Lee and starring Denzel Washington. Available to rent on Amazon.
4 of 23Hidden Figures
The true story of three African-American women working at NASA as mathematicians, starring Taraji P. Henson as Katherine Johnson. Available to rent on Amazon Prime.
5 of 23Dark Girls
A documentary about the prejudices and cultural bias dark-skinned women face around the world. Available to rent on Amazon.
6 of 23Get Out
A horror film written and directed by Jordan Peele starring Daniel Kaluuya as a man who uncovers a disturbing secret when he meets the family of his white girlfriend. Available to rent on Amazon.
7 of 23Just Mercy
The true story of lawyer, Bryan Stevenson, battling to overturn the wrongful murder conviction of Walter McMillian. Available to rent on Amazon.
8 of 23Selma
This Ava DuVernay-directed film is based around Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) and his followers' historic march from Selma to Montgomery. Available to rent on Amazon Prime.
9 of 23Mudbound
Two Mississippi families – one Black, one white – confront the brutal realities of prejudice, farming and friendship in this Netflix series.
10 of 23The Color Purple
Based on the Pulitzer-winning book by Alice Walker, the film follows Celie, a black woman growing up in the early 1900s. Available to rent on Amazon.
11 of 23The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975
Many of the interviews that have been shared on social media this week feature in this film – a documentary about the Black Power movement through the eyes of Swedish journalists and filmmakers who'd travelled to report on it. You can buy the film on DVD.
12 of 23The Hate U Give
This movie, based on the book of the same name by Angie Thomas, tells the story of Starr Carter, who witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend by police. Available to buy on Amazon.
13 of 23I Am Not Your Negro
Told in the words of James Baldwin, through personal appearances and the text of his final unfinished book, I Am Not Your Negro touches on the lives and assassinations of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr and Medgar Evans to discuss how the image and reality of Black people in America today is fabricated and enforced. Available on Amazon.
14 of 23King In The Wilderness
An HBO documentary chronicling the final 18 months of Martin Luther King Jr's life. Available to stream on Amazon.
15 of 23American Son
Kerry Washington stars in this film about an estranged interracial couple awaiting news on their missing teenage son in a Florida police station. Available on Netflix.
16 of 23When They See Us
A series created, co-written and directed by Ava DuVernay about the events of a 1989 rape case, and the Central Park 5, who were wrongly imprisoned for a violent rape and assault. The series is available on Netflix.
17 of 2313th
This documentary by Ava DuVernay includes scholars, activists and politicians, analysing the criminalisation of African-Americans and the US prison boom. Available on Netflix.
18 of 23See You Yesterday
This sci-fi film sees two teen prodigies trying to master time travel, as a tragic police shooting sends them on a series of dangerous trips to the past. Available on Netflix.
19 of 23If Beale Street Could Talk
Barry Jenkins wrote and directed this film, based on James Baldwin's 1974 novel about a Harlem couple torn apart by a wrongful arrest. Available to watch on Amazon Prime.
20 of 23Belle
Amma Asante's film is inspired by the 1779 painting of Dido Elizabeth Belle – the illegitimate mixed-race child of Sir John Lindsay – alongside her cousin, Lady Elizabeth Murray, which hangs in Kenwood House, London. The fictional story centres on Dido's relationships within her family and wider society, amidst the reactions to the Zong massacre, where slaves were thrown overboard from a slave ship and the owner filed for the losses with his insurance company. You can hire Belle on Amazon Prime.
21 of 23Reggie Yates: Life and Death in Chicago
Many of Reggie Yates' ongoing documentaries and Extreme series for BBC Three are important watches. This documentary, which saw him travel to Chicago to examine gun crime in 2016, is available on iPlayer now.
22 of 23This Is England
The Shane Meadows film that spawned the Channel 4 series shows the development of skinhead culture in the 1980s in the UK and how it became hijacked by racist voices. The film is available on Amazon Prime.
23 of 23Shame In The Game: Racism In Football
This BBC Three documentary, still available on iPlayer, examines the devastating impact of football racism in the UK, as incidents soar and players at every level of the game call for drastic action.
READ MORE: Here Are The Anti-Racism Charities You Can Support Around The UK And US