African Americans remember Juneteenth

It's described by some as "the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States." But Juneteenth has a meaning beyond slavery, according to one noted historian.

Harry Jones, assistant director and curator of the African American Civil War Museum, appeared on NPR's Tell Me More this week and talked about the significance of the day.

Jones says Juneteenth is not just about the end of slavery but the end of the Confederacy. He says the celebration is about "the day we conquered the state of Texas, bringing it back into the Union, preserving the Union, and maintaining the supremacy of the U.S. Constitution." 

It was May of 1865 when Union Army forces arrived in Texas, the last Confederate holdout in the Civil War. Union forces defeated the Confederates in the Battle of Palmetto Ranch, which is now considered to be "the last battle of the Civil War."

They won the battle with the help of black soldiers who were literally fighting for their own freedom, Jones says. More than 209,000 black soldiers were mustered into the bureau of the U.S. Colored Troops, according to Jones, who helps oversee the "The Spirit of Freedom" exhibit at his museum in Washington, D.C.

When the Civil War began in April 1861, 11 states had seceded from the union and nearly 4 million African Americans were claimed as property. Lincoln made an agreement with black men that if they brought the seceding states back into the union, then slavery would be abolished in those states.

On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that "all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free."

So when Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Texas, he was following the commitment made by President Lincoln, who had by that time been assassinated. On June 19, 1865, Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas and published General Order Number 3 that abolished slavery in Texas.

"The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer."

Juneteenth became an official holiday in Texas on January 1, 1980, making Texas the first state to grant the day government recognition. Several states have since recognized the holiday, but Texas is reportedly the only state that designates the day with full holiday status and all government employees have the day off.