Black Lives Matter is one of the most impactful activist movements of the past decade, with the aim of promoting racial justice and meaningful legal and political change, combat white supremacy, and uplift the Black community not just in the United States, but around the world. Most notably, it has inspired mass protests against brutality and extrajudicial killings of African-Americans by police and calling for justice to be served for these abuses, with the movement beginning in 2013 after George Zimmerman was acquitted for the shooting of seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin.
One recent accomplishment spurred on by Black Lives Matter is the long-desired establishment of Juneteenth as a federal holiday, after over 150 years of observance by the African-American community.
In January 1863, in the middle of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which legally freed the 3.5 million African Americans enslaved in the southern Confederate States, which had seceded from the northern Union to continue keeping African Americans enslaved to use for labor. Under this law, any enslaved person who escaped and made it to Union lines would be free from their captors.
Juneteenth, a portmanteau of “June” and “nineteenth,” commemorates the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger declared freedom for all enslaved African Americans in Texas, weeks after the end of the Civil War. African American communities celebrate Juneteenth as another Independence Day, with community events such as speeches and the singing of traditional songs, cookouts and other family meals, education on African American history and celebration of freedom and heritage.
In response to the efforts of Black activists campaigning to make Juneteenth a national holiday, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act in 2021. This officially made Juneteenth the first federal holiday to be established in the United States since the establishment of Martin Luther King Jr. Day (which celebrates the birthday of renowned Black civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) in 1983.
One way of celebrating Juneteenth is by traveling to Galveston, Texas, where Granger first made the declaration of freedom. However, New York City also has many Juneteenth events in all five boroughs, including the 14th annual Juneteenth festival in Brooklyn, which lasts three days. Because Juneteenth is a federal holiday, you can expect schools, several businesses, and government buildings to be closed, and be prepared for possible road closures as a result of street fairs and other public celebrations.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at any time at info@gravityintprog.com. Stay safe and healthy!
