Local group Bee Aware is celebrating the federal holiday Juneteenth. The public is invited to join in the nationwide celebration of this special holiday by gathering with Bee Aware for a Jubilee to be hosted at Coastal Rivers Salt Bay Farm on Belvedere Road overlooking Great Salt Bay on Sunday, June 19.
Signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021, Juneteenth National Independence Day commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. June 19 is a day to celebrate freedom for all and an opportunity to reflect upon slavery’s foundational place in the American story. The Congressional Black Caucus was among many participants working toward this national distinction.
Another notable advocate for making Juneteenth a federal holiday is Opal Lee who, at the age of 89, walked from her home in Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C. in 2.5 mile increments to symbolize the two and a half years it took for news of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation to reach enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas. At that time, there were at least 250,000 enslaved people in Texas, many of whom had been forcibly brought to the state by enslavers trying to hold onto their human property by getting as far as possible from the fighting of the Civil War. At the age of 94, she was an honored guest at the bill signing ceremony.
On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston and read General Order No. 3 to the assembled Americans. The order proclaimed, “The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.”
Upon hearing the news, many formerly enslaved people did not stay as laborers for their former masters. Instead, they left in search of new lives or to find long lost family members who had been sold into slavery. Yet even after General Granger’s declaration on June 19, and the defeat of the Confederacy, many enslaved people were not freed until forced by representatives from the government.
Vice President Kamala Harris noted at the consecration ceremony for Juneteenth, that the intention of Juneteenth is to be a holiday that will “join the others of our national celebrations: our independence, our laborers who built this nation, our servicemen and women who served and died in its defense.”
Bee Aware is encouraged that Democrats and Republicans came together to commemorate this day with the overwhelming bipartisan support of Congress.
Bee Aware invites the community on Juneteenth for a celebration of freedom and inclusion. The event will be held at Coastal Rivers Salt Bay Farm on Belvedere Road overlooking Great Salt Bay from noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 19.
There will be a Juneteenth Trail activity for all ages that includes a walk with informational kiosks that share the inspiring history of Juneteenth. All are encouraged to bring a picnic and a blanket. Additional details will be released closer to the date.
For more information or to join a list to receive information about future events, email Catherine McLetchie at c.walton@thegoodsupply.org.
