Steve Sikes Blog
Steve Sikes Blog
Generally when Americans think about a day in which we celebrate our freedom, we think about July 4. However, there is another independence holiday that is celebrated in the United States that I had not heard about until four years ago – it’s called “Juneteenth” (also known as “Emancipation Day” or “Freedom Day”). It is a holiday observed on June 19 across the nation, but for over a century was mainly celebrated by African Americans in Texas and parts of Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas. The name “Juneteenth” was probably derived from the slang combination of the words June and nineteenth.
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President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862 and again on New Year’s Day, 1863, during the American Civil War. This proclamation ordered the liberating of all slaves from every state. However, without Union troops to enforce Lincoln’s order, slavery continued in the South for over two more years.
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On June 19, 1865, General Gordon Granger and his 2,000 troops marched into Galveston, Texas and publically declared that slavery in America was ended. History notes that the reaction of the slaves hearing about their freedom for the very first time was mixed, ranging from shock and disbelief to jubilation!
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Can you imagine being decreed free but not knowing it for over two years?! I know I wouldn’t want to be a slave one second longer than freedom’s declaration! Really?
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Have you not heard? You were created for freedom (Gal 5:1)!
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God is good all the time! Steve