Breaking Down The Fake News: What is Juneteeth, Actually?

If you’re a follower of Trump rallies and events, as I am, you have probably heard a lot of buzz around the holiday known as “Juneteenth.” President Trump had scheduled a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 19th prior to the outbreak of civil unrest regarding the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minnesota who is now in custody and charged with murder. Only once the protests broke out did the liberals attack President Trump to say that it was “racist” to have his rally on June 19th (which is the day of Juneteenth, though, it is observed often the Friday closest to June 19th. This year it is the same, but it is often mixed) at a site where atrocities had occurred to black Americans in the 1920s.

Instead of listening to the angry mob and issuing knee jerk decisions and apologies, President Trump thoughtfully took in feedback from the black community, educated himself on Juneteenth and ultimately decided out of respect for black Americans to move his rally to June 20th. No surprise – he did not receive any deserved praise from the liberals who once accused him of racism. Luckily for President Trump, he never does anything to appeal to the mouth foamers and was genuine in his decision to move the rally because he had learned more information and decided it was the right thing to do.

I didn’t learn about Juneteenth until a few years ago which is a real tragedy because it is a beautiful holiday that we should all be celebrating. Here is s a brief history: 

On June 19th, 1865 Major General Gordon Granger placed Texas under the control of the Union Army and ordered that all slaves are free. Even though the emancipation proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862 and it took effect in 1863, not all jurisdictions were following the law yet and slavery prevailed in several states as the war ended and reconstruction began. This order in 1865 was the last of the jurisdictions to cling to slavery meaning, for all intents and purposes if not literally, the last slaves were freed on this day. 

It has been described by some as not the day the slaves were freed, but the day they were told they were free. The newly freed black Americans and their allies and neighbors rallied to create a parade and celebration called Juneteenth which continued on starting the very next year and continues today.

This day is incredibly important to American culture and American liberty because those of us who believe in freedom from the oppression of government know that the United States that we know and love was not formed until after the Civil War when ownership of human beings was totally eradicated and the great American west was established.

The greatest republican in American history, Frederick Douglas put it perfectly in his speech on July 5, 1852: 

“What to the American slave is the 4th of July? …To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sound of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants brass fronted impudence; your shout of liberty and equality; hollow mockery.” 

Our founding fathers did not achieve their goal of true freedom from tyranny until June 19, 1865. And so we should celebrate Juneteenth as a patriotic precursor to my favorite holiday which it made holy; Independence Day, July 4th. 

Check out the experts for more experts and to learn some ways to participate in the celebration.