Today’s celebration of Juneteenth – referred to by some as “America’s second Independence Day”– has only been a federal holiday since 2021, but dates to 1865.
It was on June 19, 1865 when Union forces sailed into Galveston Bay in Texas to enforce the end of slavery.
At the time, there were 250,000 slaves in Texas – and none of them knew that nearly 4 million other American slaves had been emancipated when the Civil War ended two months earlier.
As you can imagine, news of the liberation was met with widespread jubilation as it spread and sunk in. The prayers of the now former slaves had been answered. Freedom had finally come.
It’s fitting that Juneteenth and the anniversary of the fall of Roe fall within the same week.
Both the reversal of Roe and the emancipation of millions of slaves were key turning points in America’s history. Freedom is the hallmark of our nation – and it’s only when life is celebrated, cherished, and championed that we will thrive as a nation.
Juneteenth represents a triumph of truth over lies, a declaration of dignity over disrespect, a loud proclamation that all life is precious, sacred, and worthy of protection and celebration.
