Pictures provided by American Battlefield Trust 

If you’ve read an article about Juneteenth facts, you’ve read them all. It’s history, after all, so it’s predictable and repetitive. But we’ve compiled a list of history’s dirty little secrets on Juneteenth to shed light on how awesome this holiday truly is. 

First, let’s talk about what we already Know. 

Commonly Known Juneteenth Facts

Fact #1. Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st, 1863, freeing all slaves. Yet many were not released.

Fact #2. In the summer of 1865, when the Civil War ended, General Gordon Granger and his troops marched to Galveston, TX, to announce General Orders No.3. An order releasing slaves under Confederate control- this was two whole years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

Fact #3. On June 19th, 1865, General Granger arrived in Galveston. Juneteenth resulted from a combination of June and nineteenth. It was also known as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, and Liberation Day. Celebrations began the following year.

Fact #4. Even though General Order No. 3 encouraged freedmen and women to stay in their homes and work for wages, many left to find family elsewhere. This period was known as the ‘Scatter.’

Pictures provided by American Battlefield Trust 

Fact #5. During the early 1900s, the celebration of Juneteenth dwindled due to current Jim Crow laws. 

Fact #6. In the 1950s and 60s, Juneteenth saw a revival as the Civil Rights Movement swept across the nation.

Fact #7. In 2017 Opal Lee, the “grandmother of Juneteenth,” began a march from Texas to DC- hoping to relaunch the campaign to make Juneteenth a national holiday- a lifelong dream of hers. 

Fact #8. On June 17th, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, which made it an official holiday.

Fact #9. Juneteenth has a commemorative flag.

And now to the good stuff.

Little Known Facts

Fact #1. During the war, many slaveholders migrated to Texas to escape it, bringing their slaves with them and swelling its population to approximately 250,000.

Fact #2. According to historians, the news of emancipation was suppressed by slavers to ensure they had enough labor for the coming harvest.

Fact #3. Once General Granger arrived in Texas, Union soldiers (many of who were black) marched onto plantations reading the decree and setting their people free. 

Fact #4. Eyewitness accounts tell of freed slaves swimming across the Sabine River shot on-sight to prevent them from leaving. 

Fact #5. Former Texas representative Al Edwards became known as the “father of Juneteenth” when he sponsored a bill to make Juneteenth a state holiday in 1980.

Fact #6. The Moscogos population in Mexico are descendants of formerly enslaved people and Seminole Indians who migrated there throughout the 1800s. They are known as the Black Mascogo and celebrate Juneteenth every year. 

Picture provided by NBC news

Why It Matters So Much

Juneteenth is the ultimate victory of good over evil. And that’s why it matters.
Black and white men and women united to demolish an unholy establishment- and won. When their world seemed darkest, they found hope in each other.

Today evil roams every aspect of our society. Every day we see the oppression of truth, the corruption of the young, and the degradation of our moral compass. As children of the Most High, we are called to “not take part in evil deeds but to expose them (Ephesians 5:11).” And together, we can take the light into the darkness enforce. 

As we rejoice in the freedom of our slave brethren, let us remember that freedom came at the cost of integrity, courage, and perseverance. And let us continue on in the same spirit to build a better future. For more on Juneteenth, check out this amazing interview with filmmaker Rasool Berry from Our Daily Bread.