Freedom from slavery came to black people at different dates on our national calendar. “Juneteenth” (June 19th) is a celebration of freedom and a reminder that emancipation was not one moment in our nation’s history. Black Americans have persevered in spite of racism and hatred by focusing on their pride in their history, strength in being black, and deep faith and hope for a better future. They know that freedom is a journey.
A long time ago our country had no highways, no cars, no airplanes, no phones, no computers, no big businesses –almost nothing that we have today! Many people farmed, some on large plantations. White plantation owners needed smart, strong workers to help. So, some people traveled to Africa. They brought back black workers against their will. These enslaved African people labored hard but the plantation owners never paid them and would not allow them to leave the plantations. They could be bought and sold like property.
Black and white people who thought this enslavement was very wrong took actions which resulted in The Civil War. The war between the Union against slavery and the Confederacy for slavery lasted four years (1861-1865). Approximately 700,000 people in our country lost their lives. During the war President Abraham Lincoln issued “The Emancipation Proclamation” on January 1, 1863. However, only enslaved people in Confederate states which had been liberated by Union Troops were freed on that date. Some enslaved people didn’t know until Union forces set them free at later dates. On June 19, 1865 the Union’s Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas. He advised the community that Lincoln had freed enslaved people in rebel states two and a half years earlier! Union forces arrived soon after to enforce Granger’s order to free slaves in Texas. Finally, on December 6, 1865 the Thirteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution was ratified. Enslaved people everywhere in our country were given their freedom.
Activities
Get out your make-believe tools: tape measure, trowel, small brushes, dust pan. Get ready to dig, sift, and measure as you participate in three discoveries!
Follow this research design for each of the three discoveries:
- Read the discovery questions.
- Watch the YouTube video. (Use FULL SCREEN.) Find the answers to the discovery questions. Either jot down your answers or just keep them in your memory.
- Share and analyze with each other what you discovered. Talk about how what you found out helps you to piece together fragments of information and create a better picture of Juneteenth.
Discovery #1
Discovery Questions
- Together we are stronger than we are alone. How did each person contribute: Angelica McKinley, Loveis Wise, LeVar Burton?
- Concentrate on the photographs. Sift through them thoughtfully. What is one fact you discovered?
- Think about the words spoken, the art shared, and the music background. Which one– words, art, music– did you find the most interesting? Why?
Watch
Discovery #2
Discovery Questions
- James Weldon Johnson created the poem “Lift Every Voice and Sing” for President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. Later his brother John Rosamond Johnson set the poem to music. A choir of 500 students at the segregated Stanton School in Jacksonville, Florida where James W. Johnson was principal performed it in public for the first time in 1900.
- Do you think the poem will remind listeners and readers of Lincoln? Why or why not?
You saw some of the illustrations on this video and heard parts of Johnson’s poem in Discovery #1. Sometimes when we see/hear words a second time, they have more meaning. Listen/read/look closely. If you found anything more meaningful this second time, share it. If you did not, share why you think this is so.
Watch
Discovery #3
Search, Discover and Analyze
In the old photographs and the more recent video, apply your trowel carefully to uncover and dust off evidence of the following:
- Enslaved people were thought of as possessions. Adjustment to the end of slavery was hard for both slaves and slave owners.
- Fellowship, prayer, honoring those who died in the fight for freedom, celebrating all that has been already accomplished, and revitalizing the community for the struggles ahead are part of Juneteenth.
- Eating red food and drinking red beverages is part of Juneteenth. The color red is associated with endurance, strength, resilience and persistence.
Watch
Finally, as you put away your archaeologist’s tools, try to remember what you discovered about Juneteenth and the journey of freedom.