On June 19, Juneteenth was celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time in Lovington with a family-oriented festival that included storytelling, games and activities.
The gathering was organized following the declaration of Juneteenth as the 11th federal holiday by a bipartisan vote in Congress. The last time a federal holiday was created was on November 2, 1983 when President Ronald Reagan created Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in honor of the civil rights activist’s contribution to a more equitable society.
Juneteenth in history
The federal end to slavery in the United States in 1863 was of little use to slaves in the Southwest – at least not until two years later, when the Confederacy surrendered and Union General Gordon Granger and his troops reached Galveston, Texas. The state was a holdout for slaveholders, many of them from Louisiana and Mississippi who had traveled west with their slaves as the Union army made its way through the South.
After arriving, General Gordon rode from location to location reading “General Order No. 3” – a document that informed all slaves that they were freed under President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. As he read the document, General Gordon informed Texas’s 250,000 slaves that they had been freed by the federal government.
The resulting celebration amongst the newly freed slaves that spring included singing, sharing stories, and reconnecting with one another and the community for the first time as unowned human beings. For many, it was a time of tears, affirmation, and disbelief. The day was nicknamed “Juneteenth”, and it has been recognized in Black circles since 1865.
The official name of the holiday is “Juneteenth National Independence Day” as it marks when all of the citizens of the United States became free people.
As he signed the bill into law, President Joseph Biden said: “Great nations don’t ignore their most painful moments. They embrace them.”
