On Juneteenth We Don’t Just Celebrate History, We Learn from It

June 19 is Juneteenth, a time when we celebrate the end of slavery in the United States. It dates back to 1865, but wasn’t recognized as a national holiday until last year when it was signed into law. As many know, Juneteenth is not the day that slaves were officially emancipated—that happened in 1863 when Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth marks the day when news of their freedom finally reached the slaves living in Galveston, Texas, one of the last strongholds of the Confederacy. For more than two years, these free men, women, and children continued to live in chains. 

In addition to being a day that we celebrate, Juneteenth reminds us that the fact of freedom and its experience are not the same. It is not enough to pronounce freedom and equality, we must both live and defend it.

We hope that everyone has something fun planned for Juneteenth this year. But in addition to the parades, concerts, and cookouts, we encourage you to take some time to celebrate and support black-owned businesses. Empowering black individuals in our community is the best way to celebrate their achievement as well as defend their continued prosperity.

At Emmaus House, “we harness the power of community, education, hope, and love to dismantle poverty, racism, and other barriers to opportunity in the lives and communities we serve,” on June 19 and every other day. Let’s take this time to celebrate progress, but never forget that the battle continues.

Happy Juneteenth from all of us at Emmaus House.