Juneteenth is observed every year to commemorate June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers delivered the news that enslaved Black people were now free in Galveston, Texas. As a company, Stride met to learn, educate, and discuss the history of Juneteenth and share resources with one another. Below are some of the resources we shared amongst the team—they consist of articles, podcasts, videos, events, and documentaries all surrounding Juneteenth.

Resources

The History of Juneteenth

Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, commemorates the day when slavery officially ended in the United States in 1865. Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865 to announce that the war had ended and the enslaved were now free. This news came two months after the Confederacy surrendered, and almost two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Due to the minimal amount of Union troops in Texas, no one was in a rush to deliver the news of freedom to the slaves that were there.

Celebrations of Juneteenth date back to 1866 through community church groups in Texas. The celebrations spread throughout the South and became more common across the country in the 1920s and 30s. Today, Juneteenth is celebrated locally across the United States. In southern states, it’s usually celebrated with strawberry soda, barbecues, and readings. A traditional dish is the Marcus Garvey salad, which consists of red, green, and black beans to commemorate the black nationalist. Contests, concerts, and parades are also common across the country.

As of Thursday, June 17, 2021, Juneteenth is now a federal holiday—the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which was created in 1983. On Wednesday, the House approved the bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday after it was unanimously approved by the Senate on Tuesday. On June 17th, President Biden signed the bill into law—footsteps away from where President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.