Juneteenth, a historical moment for Black Americans, gains prominence amid racial reckoning

Lee O. Sanderlin
Mississippi Clarion Ledger

Juneteenth has taken on new prominence in American life.

Also known as Emancipation Day or Jubilee Day, the holiday commemorates June 19, 1865, the day Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and ordered federal troops to enforce the end of slavery there. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, but the practice continued in many southern states until Union troops took control of them and ended their rebellion.

First made a state holiday in Texas in 1980, Juneteenth celebrations across the country have come into focus after unrest rippled through the country in 2020. In the wake of several high-profile police killings of Black people over this past year — the police murder of George Floyd being the most prominent in the national media —  people have been forced to confront the long, violent history of racism in America.

"Because people were home during the pandemic, they were forced to watch these images that they otherwise probably wouldn’t have paid much attention to," said D'Andra Orey, a professor of political science at Jackson State University. "Because it was such a gruesome murder, and, you know, it highlighted the dehumanization of Black people, that’s something you can’t ignore."

In this June 19, 2020 file photo, protesters chant as they march after a Juneteenth rally at the Brooklyn Museum, Friday, June 19, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. On Thursday, July 23, 2020, New York State passed a bill to designate June 19 as Juneteenth to commemorate the emancipation of slaves in the U.S. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

The holiday, once celebrated primarily by Black people in the American South and larger cities, has been thrust into the mainstream, as states around the country have recognized it as an official holiday in an effort to be more inclusive and culturally aware. Several large corporations and companies, including Gannett, which owns the Clarion Ledger, elected to give the day off to its employees to recognize its significance in American history.

Orey said Juneteenth's increased prominence will only serve to strengthen Black culture.

"That’s a form of racial identity, and as that racial identity strengthens, people become more cognizant of traditions and Black culture," he said.

America has not come so far from police officers letting loose dogs and turning fire hoses on Black protestors six decades ago. It was just last summer that people marching through the streets of some of the nation’s largest cities to protest police violence against Black people were met with volleys of rubber bullets, swinging batons and clouds of tear gas.

While Confederate Memorial Day is an official holiday in Mississippi, the Blackest state in America, Juneteenth is not.

Maisie Brown, 19, a community organizer in Jackson, said Mississippi failing to recognize Juneteenth while recognizing the people who fought to preserve slavery is not surprising. 

"Look at the people who say what they say and still stay in leadership," Brown said. "The flag change was a big step in the right decision but we still have far too many people in power who don’t care."

Even in Jackson, the city in America with the second largest share of Black residents, it is a commemorative holiday and not an officially observed one. Still, the momentum of Juneteenth is present, and has carried over from last year, Brown said.

"People will text me and say, 'What are the moves for Juneteenth?'" she said. "Last year people reclaimed their time with it and reclaimed their space. And people are trying to move forward with that this year."

What Juneteenth means

With celebrations set for most of Mississippi’s major cities and towns this weekend, some Mississippians shared with the Clarion Ledger what Juneteenth means to them.

Cindy Ayers Elliott is something of a rarity: A Black woman who owns and operates a farm. Her farm, Foot Print Farms, is hosting a Juneteenth celebration she said will recognize and celebrate how farmland links generations of African Americans past and present.

U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics show nationally, Black farmers make up about 1.5% of the nation's 3.2 million farmers. Of that, 14% Black women.

“My ancestors would tell the stories of Juneteenth and talk about the spirit of it,” Elliott said. “We should celebrate our heritage and give homage to the land in the spirit of our ancestors.”

Born in Clarksdale, C. Leigh McInnis, a Black man, is an English teacher at Jackson State University and a published poet. The newfound prominence of Juneteenth simultaneously excites and worries McInnis. He fears the holiday becoming commercialized could overshadow its significance in Black history and culture. On the other hand, the more attention it gets, the more prominent it becomes.

“It becomes a holiday that really can have an impact by pushing progress in both a community and a nation,” McInnis said. 

In Vicksburg, Gina Hendrickson, a white Sicilian woman who moved to Vicksburg four years ago from New York, said Juneteenth took on new meaning for her once she arrived in the south.

“I knew of Juneteenth as it relates to Texas growing up and learning history in school,” Hendrickson said. “Learning more and seeing the importance of things, from what I gather from everyone I know who is African American here, they do consider June 19 their Independence Day.”

Hendrickson, along with the Vicksburg NAACP and other community organizations, helped organize a Juneteenth festival for the city this year.

“Here, racism is open and it’s a lot,” Hendrickson said. “People just continue to live through it.”

Progress can be slow in Mississippi. But it is happening. It was just in January when the state officially changed its flag, moving away from a version that featured the Confederate battle insignia.

McInnis, in an effort to sum up what Juneteenth means to him, said celebrating it is a lot like playing the blues.

“It is simultaneously a lamenting of pain and a celebration of overcoming the pain,” he said.

Lee O. Sanderlin is an investigative and political reporter covering the state of Mississippi. Got a story tip? You can call him at 601-559-3857, send it to LSanderlin@gannett.com or message him on Twitter @LeeOSanderlin.