Juneteenth Archives - The Minnesota Sun

Commentary: Juneteenth Usurped the Emancipation Proclamation

June 19, 2024 Zachery Schmidt

How did Juneteenth, once just a regional celebration, become a federal holiday instead of the far more significant Emancipation Proclamation? The latter freed over 3 million slaves, including the ones in Galveston, Texas that didn’t know of their freedom. Let’s walk through some of the facts of the latter’s superiority over the former before grappling with the politics of our times.

President Abraham Lincoln issued The Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. It never became a federal holiday despite the wishes of some organizations. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), presented a proposal in 2014 seeking to establish “A National Holiday Commemorating Emancipation of the Slaves” for the “history and story” to be “properly researched and archived for the American People. It acknowledged the importance of the document for all Americans and sought for the holiday to be celebrated on January 1 of each year as a Jubilee. The NAACP resolution was presented during the Obama Administration. It was written before the word “slaves” was swapped for “enslaved peoples.”

As Support for ‘Black Lives Matter’ Group Dives, Most Black Americans Pessimistic About Racism on Third Federal Juneteenth: Poll

June 19, 2023 Just the News

As the government observes Juneteenth as a holiday Monday for the third straight year, support for the Black Lives Matter movement has plummeted significantly as black Americans grapple with rising urban crime and stubborn inflation and grow pessimistic about racism in the future.

Juneteenth, the day that all enslaved Americans found out they were free when news of the Civil War’s end reached Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, was celebrated by black Americans for years.

GOP Presidential Candidate Ramaswamy Calls for ‘Emancipation of the American Mind from Psychological Slavery Based on Race’

June 19, 2023 M.D. Kittle

Ohio businessman and Republican Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is marking this Juneteenth with a call for the “emancipation of the American mind from psychological slavery based on race.”

St. Paul Target Criticized for Its Juneteenth Display: ‘Missed the Mark’

June 29, 2021June 28, 2021 Hayley Feland

A Target store in St. Paul came under fire for their Juneteenth display in their employee break room which had hot sauce, red Kool-Aid, and watermelon. Someone, presumably an employee, shared photos of the display on social media, leading to public backlash. One of the public comments called “every single Target employee who thought that the display represented Juneteenth,” racist.

Senate Unanimously Passes Bill Making Juneteenth a Federal Holiday

June 17, 2021June 16, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

The Senate unanimously passed legislation Tuesday making Juneteenth a federal holiday.

Juneteenth, already celebrated in the majority of states on June 19, commemorates the official end of slavery in Confederate states on that day in 1865. Though President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, hundreds of thousands of slaves did not learn of their freedom until after the end of the Civil War.

Wisconsin Republican Senator Moves to Drop Columbus Day as Federal Holiday

July 3, 2020July 2, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) has cosponsored an amendment to replace Columbus Day with Juneteenth as a new federal holiday.

The measure was introduced Wednesday as an amendment to Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) bill to declare Juneteenth a federal holiday. Johnson is co-sponsoring the amendment with Sen. James Lankford (R-OK).

Target, Best Buy Declare Juneteenth Company Holiday, GOP Senator Moves to Make Federal Holiday

June 19, 2020June 18, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

Both Target and Best Buy have announced plans to make Juneteenth a company-wide holiday, an idea that Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) wants to institute on the federal level.

“One of the most defining days in our nation’s history was when President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, finally freeing all slaves in Confederate territory. But slaves in Texas wouldn’t learn this life-altering news for two and a half years,” Cornyn said during a Senate floor speech Thursday.

Trump Honors Request from Black Supporters, Reschedules Tulsa Campaign Rally to June 20

June 13, 2020June 13, 2020 The Associated Press

President Donald Trump said Friday that he is rescheduling his first campaign rally in months to a day later so it won’t conflict with the Juneteenth observance of the end of slavery in the United States.

Trump had scheduled the rally — his first since early March — for June 19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Black leaders said it was offensive for Trump to pick that day and that place, a city that in 1921 was the site of a fiery and orchestrated white-on-black attack.