In the summer of 1865, the good news of freedom finally came to more than 250,000 slaves in Texas. Union troops gathered in the city of Galveston and read a general’s order to the public: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance…
Let’s tell a new story: Juneteenth and the Fourth of July
Note: This post is an excerpt from a chapter titled “Juneteenth” in the author’s forthcoming book, Backslide: Reclaiming a Faith and a Nation After the Christian Turn Against Democracy, which will be published September 8 and is now available for pre-order….
Juneteenth reminds us of Black Americans’ long struggle for education following end of slavery
The abolitionist and writer Frederick Douglass is known for many things, but perhaps among the most significant is his views on education’s relationship to slavery. Douglass himself was born into slavery in Maryland in 1818.
The story of America is not the story of one leader
There are moments in public life that seem small on the surface but carry deep moral weight. Sometimes, a policy change is more than a policy change; it is a window into the soul of a nation. The recent decision…
Rebuilding one of the nation’s oldest Black churches begins at Juneteenth ceremony
The rebuilding of one of the nation’s oldest Black churches, whose congregants first gathered outdoors in secret before constructing a wooden meetinghouse in Virginia, started Thursday with a ceremonial groundbreaking.
Juneteenth 160 years later
This year, Juneteenth turns 160. While it only became a federal holiday in 2021 — joining the calendar as America’s 11th official holiday — it commemorates one of the country’s oldest and most painful journeys: the ongoing fight for true,…
America’s founding rejected a king and a state religion, Raushenbush and Bowen say
Juneteenth and Independence Day offer models of the kind of religious freedom America should embrace, according to Interfaith Alliance President Paul Raushenbush. “On July Fourth in 1776, the Founders declared independence from a king who was given absolute power because…
What, to the white American, is the 19th of June?
On July 5, 1852, the Ladies Anti-Slavery Society of Rochester invited Frederick Douglass to give a speech on the 76th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which became known by its central piercing question, “What, to the American slave, is your…
Opal Lee already knows what her 99th birthday present will be
In an interview last summer, Opal Lee told BNG she would “keep on walking and talking until somebody listens” in her fight for social change. And eight months later, the now 97-year-old “Grandmother of Juneteenth” is keeping her word. Lee’s…
At Juneteenth vigil, Alliance of Baptists called to move from celebration to action
Juneteenth observances must go beyond celebrating the emancipation of enslaved people to calling out modern forms of white supremacy that continue to oppress people of color, speakers said during a June 19 online vigil hosted by the Alliance of Baptists….
Juneteenth: Moving from symbolism to substance
When President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation Jan. 1, 1863, it changed the legal status of more than 3.5 million enslaved Black people in the Confederate states from enslaved to free. It was two-and-a-half years later, on June 19,…
One new book tells kids the story Juneteenth, while another tells adults why Juneteenth matters
When Dorena Williamson was asked to write a children’s book on the importance of Juneteenth, she knew it was a huge task to pull off, not just because of the topic but because of the timeline. This year, our country…