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{ 2009 06 20 }

Sharing a “Juneteenth” post from UNC Press Blog

Friday marked the commemoration of “Juneteenth” — the day that commemorates June 19, 1865, when slaves in the Galveston, Texas, area heard a proclamation of freedom read by Union General Gordon Granger.

This morning we read a great blog post from our friends at UNC Press that gives a great explanation of the history of Juneteenth and the tradition of “Emancipation Day.” This (re)post was written by William A. Blair, professor of U.S. history and director of the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center at the Pennsylvania State University. We thought we’d pass it along.

Link to post: “Juneteenth, Emancipation, and the Proclamation” (links out to the UNC Press Blog)

Posted by Biff Hollingsworth on Saturday, June 20, 2009, at 11:16 pm, and filed under Uncategorized. Follow any responses to this post with its comments RSS feed. Both comments and trackbacks are currently closed.

{ 12 } Comments

  1. Tim West | 21 June 2009 at 4:45 pm | Permalink

    Nice post! Blair’s mention of freedom celebrations in parts of coastal S.C. and Ga. freed early in the war made me think of the Penn School on St. Helena’s Island, S.C., and the wonderful and extensive papers, photographs, and audio recordings of same in the SHC. Are there records there of these early celebrations? And BIll Blair is an SHC user!

  2. Freedom | 30 June 2009 at 7:58 pm | Permalink

    Thanks for sharing. May the fights for freedom never be forgotten.

  3. trd788 | 4 July 2009 at 11:39 pm | Permalink

    Juneteenth is not really celebrated that much in Louisiana. We know about it but don’t break out the grill for it. I only heard about it when I lived in Texas for a few years. Those guys throw block parties !

  4. Africanbrother | 8 July 2009 at 10:19 pm | Permalink

    Great to hear that freedom is still being celebrated. Being a person of colour, and coming from a relatively young democracy like South Africa, I have a full appreciation for what human rights and emancipation means.

  5. antony | 13 July 2009 at 6:29 am | Permalink

    Thanks again because it reminds that historic day.

  6. Reefs | 28 July 2009 at 10:49 am | Permalink

    Really interesting post. Very Historical! :P

  7. Avery | 13 August 2009 at 2:56 pm | Permalink

    Juneteenth is one of those that some people haven’t had on their radar, but really should. It’s all about freedom and liberty.

  8. Prof barry powell | 23 August 2009 at 7:13 pm | Permalink

    our liberty and freedom has been threatened since the begining of time , whats new ?

    Prof Barry Powell
    RMIT.edu
    Australia

  9. Mark Felix | 9 September 2009 at 1:41 pm | Permalink

    Juneteenth should be a national celebration.

  10. Ken Reno | 14 September 2009 at 5:56 pm | Permalink

    Do they celebrate Juneteenth here in Texas,they should?

  11. Richard Ryan | 14 September 2009 at 5:58 pm | Permalink

    I lived in Galveston a while back,haven’t heard of “Juneteenth”

  12. Dave Dancehall | 17 September 2009 at 6:09 pm | Permalink

    This is the first I am hearing about this also. I have subscribed to the blog and look forward to hearing more about Juneteenth. I will be doimg my own research also.

    Dave