February is Black History Month, but two of the biggest celebrations for the African-American community don’t both happen this month. One actually doesn’t happen until June.
National Freedom Day kicks off Black History Month’s celebrations on February 1. This day celebrates the signing of the 13th Amendment when all citizens, Black and White, were given equal rights, although it took a while to create these freedoms and the process continues.
The holiday commemorates the day in 1865 when the President Abraham Lincoln signed the important document, officially ending slavery in the United States.
Freedom is one of the founding principles of our country and National Freedom Day was envisioned as a way for all citizens to take a moment and appreciate how fortunate we really are. Everyone should be thankful for all the freedoms we afford as citizens of this amazing country.
But it is another day, commonly referred to as Juneteenth, that many recognize as the official end of slavery in the United States, according to Wikipedia.
The Juneteenth story begins in Texas when the major general Gordon Granger had arrived in Galveston on June 19, 1865, with the announcement that began with February 1’s National Freedom Day. As the community listened to the reading of general’s orders, the people of Galveston learned for the first time that the Civil War was finally over. All slaves were now freedmen.
While June 19 wasn’t exactly the day they were freed, it was the day they were told that they were free and were able to celebrate with joy.