The professors make interesting points about the amendment, and Harper's point about awareness. Just some reading.
Juneteenth: Celebration with a Dubious Purpose
Date: Friday, June 18, 2004
By: C. JEMAL HORTON, BlackAmericaWeb.com
This weekend, Juneteenth observances around the nation will have singing, dancing and barbecuing by hundreds of thousands who will be celebrating the day in June 1865 that slaves in Galveston, Texas were told about the Emancipation Proclamation.
But in fact, slavery wasn't officially ended in this country until
December 18, 1865 - the day the 13th amendment to the Constitution was ratified. That action came nearly three years after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, which ordered the freeing of slaves in areas controlled by the Confederacy. But since the country was in the throes of the Civil War, that order was virtually unenforceable.
Historian Russell Adams told BlackAmericaWeb.com that those who recognize June 19, 1865, as the "African-American Emancipation Day," as the Web site
www.juneteenth.com states, have good intentions. But the record, he said, should be set straight.
"It (June 19, 1865) certainly is not the legal date; it's the date the announcement was made by the military to folks in Texas," said Adams, who is chairman of Howard University's Department of Afro-American Studies."The real date should be December, not June. For some mysterious reason, nobody has picked up on the day the amendment was approved to the Constitution as a day to celebrate.
"I would stress the fact that the announcement is one thing, and the Constitutional amendment is the real thing. Because until the amendment in December of 1865, it was not illegal, in terms of strict law, to own slaves. Slavery was still a part of the American legal system until the amendment was added.
"All these other things - January 1st of '63 and June 19 (of 1865) - are only ceremonial dates that don't work, in terms of law."
Juneteenth dates back to day in 1865 when Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston and told slaves about the Emancipation Proclamation. Black historian Jim C. Harper said that merely makes Juneteenth a celebration more specific to Texas and other Confederate states - not the whole country.
"I think it's one of those things where a lot of the United States found out about the Emancipation Proclamation, heard the war was over, and thought they were free," said Harper, who is a visiting lecturer at North Carolina Central University. "Well, we all know the Emancipation Proclamation didn't free the slaves. Well, we should know that. But Juneteenth was one of those things that people adopted nationwide as the day all slaves were freed. It's been that way for a long time."
Adams said he understands why so many blacks misconstrued the date.
"It's like so many things connected with heritage: mis-education and under-education," Adams said. "I've been doing Afro-American work for 30 years.
What I've found is that people find some emotional reason to grab a date or an occasion, and they decide that this is the one that they're going to put their energies on. This is what I think has happened in this
whole (question) of 'when did slavery end in the United States?' "
Harper said that while he would rather people be aware of the actual date slaves were freed, he focuses more on the intent. "I don't necessarily think the date is the most important thing. It doesn't totally bother me, as long as we continue to strive to remember what (Juneteenth) was about - freedom for our people," he said.
"We've got too many young people out here who aren't politically
involved. If something like Juneteenth makes them more aware, I've got no problem with the dates."
Louisiana Juneteenth Celebration Events
Friday is booked with kid's stuff and my chapter is holding its annual June (Hat) Scholarship luncheon on Saturday. Saturday afternoon and Sunday are also booked with kids/family/father's day stuff. Once again, I'll have to put off going until next year.
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