We celebrate Juneteenth, now a national holiday, which commemorates the period when enslaved people in Texas learned of their emancipation some two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed that historic document freeing enslaved people in 10 Confederate states.
Learning of their newfound freedom opened real possibilities of building a new life, keeping monies earned, building institutions of education and religion, receiving an education and much more. After learning of their freedom, I am sure former slaves must have felt happy but also angry to know they had been freed two years earlier.
Growing up, I didn’t know much about African American history because it wasn’t published in books for teachers and parents to discuss. I learned about Juneteenth on a 1998 trip to Ohio, where they were celebrating the achievement, and I was curious to find out what it was.
I feel grateful, thankful and appreciative for the struggle and their ability to overcome the humiliation they went through in order for the freedoms we have today.
Dolores F. Blakey
Dover
