Let us consider Galveston, Texas, June 18, 1865 — the day before Juneteenth.
On June 18, the story goes, Galveston represented the last outpost of the Confederacy. During the Civil War, the port had been blockaded, besieged, captured, occupied, recaptured and defended, but Northern troops had not yet entered to declare an end of hostilities.
And that meant the Emancipation Proclamation of 1862 that all persons held as slaves would be “forever free” was not the law of the land. At least, not this land.
That changed on June 19 with the arrival of a Union general and 2,000 federal troops. The war was over. Slaves were free.
The joy in Galveston that day radiated over time and distance.
For many decades, communities across the nation celebrated Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day and Emancipation Day. It has been called America’s Second Independence Day.
In 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, making it a federal holiday. State legislators made the same move in Washington.
On June 19, there are happenings at the Northwest African American Museum, Washington State Historical Society and an event in Tacoma called “Juneteenth Celebration: a Road to Economic Freedom,” which bills itself as the largest Juneteenth festivity in the state.
There are gatherings in Bellevue, Lynnwood, Seattle’s historical Central District and Seward Park.
The Legislature wrote: “Although this day has special significance for Black/African Americans in the state of Washington, the historical and continued harms of slavery and the rejoicing of the end of this atrocity should be acknowledged and celebrated by all Washingtonians.”
And so the joy is mixed with contemplation. What barriers for the descendants of slaves still exist, and how can they be dismantled? How can legacies be broken, and new ones formed?
These are daunting questions, and especially difficult to consider on a sunny summer day when the mood rightfully tilts to celebration.
On this Juneteenth, the community has reason to tap into the elation experienced by those in Galveston 160 years ago. And folks ought to be inspired that no evil is so powerful that it cannot be defeated.
