I confess that I had never heard of the American notion of Juneteenth until very recently. I suppose the Black Live Matters events of the last few weeks has brought the anniversary to more prominence outside the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For non-Americans, Wikipedia provides an explanation of Juneteenth:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Juneteenth<\/strong> (a portmanteau<\/a> of June<\/em> and nineteenth<\/em>;]<\/a><\/sup> also known as Freedom Day<\/strong>, Jubilee Day<\/strong>, and Liberation Day<\/strong> is an unofficial<\/a> American holiday and an official Texas<\/a> state holiday, celebrated annually on the 19th of June<\/a> in the United States<\/a> to commemorate Union<\/a> army<\/a> general Gordon Granger<\/a> announcing federal orders in the city of Galveston<\/a>, Texas, on June 19, 1865, proclaiming that all slaves<\/a> in Texas were now free.<\/p>
Although the Emancipation Proclamation<\/a> had formally freed them almost two and a half years earlier and the American Civil War<\/a> had largely ended with the defeat of the Confederate States<\/a> in April, Texas was the most remote of the slave states<\/a>, with a low presence of Union troops, so enforcement of the proclamation had been slow and inconsistent.<\/p>
A common misconception is that this day marks the end of slavery in the United States. Although this day marks the emancipation of all slaves in the Confederacy<\/a>, the institution of slavery was still legal and existed in the Union border states<\/a> after June 19, 1865. Slavery in the United States did not officially end until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment<\/a> to the Constitution of the United States<\/a> on December 6, 1865, which abolished slavery entirely in all of the U.S. states<\/a> and territories.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n