A Great Day to Celebrate

Any day is a good day to celebrate. Today it's even more so the case. Today marks the anniversary of that amazing day, June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger stepped ashore at Galveston, Texas and declared that the slaves were free. The good news was obviously late arriving since the Emancipation Proclamation had become official January 1, 1863.

There were a lot of reasons not to tell the slaves that they were free such as one last harvest at their expense, or good news travels slowly, or the boundaries between the north and the south, or any number of other reasons, perhaps all or part true.

General Order Number 3 read this way:

"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."

What must that news have been like? Rejoicing, jubilation, "thank God Almighty, I'm free at last," confusion, or what?

Who stayed and worked, and under what conditions? Who took their few possessions and left?

So, out of that grand announcement came the annual celebration, "Juneteenth," with all of its rich history and tradition, festivities, and food.

So, today is a time of looking back and honoring those who have fallen in the battle for freedom and equality. It's also a time of looking forward to the day when "righteousness rules this land," and all are free, free indeed.

Here are a few sites for more information: here, here, and here.