Today is Juneteenth

“Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.” – ©JUNETEENTH.com

That’s pretty much the abbreviated version. I encourage everyone on this day to learn more about June 19, 1865. I know I will as well. It is up to us to keep telling our stories to our youth. These schools teach them what they deem good enough to graduate. They can’t teach our children about our culture. That is our job.

With everything going on from Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks and these lynchings on black people as of late it feels a bit hard to celebrate our freedom, but we must stay strong and fight back! Happy Juneteenth Kings and Queens! Next year we’re really gonna turn up!