EDITORIAL: Juneteenth celebrates liberty

Jun. 15—On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, announcing that all persons held as slaves within the rebellious areas are and henceforth shall be free.

A political move by Lincoln, the proclamation did not end slavery immediately or in all states, but it served as a rallying cry for Union troops and for Black Americans to fight on the side of the Union to win their freedom.

The Civil War did not officially end until June 2, 1865, and word of the Emancipation Proclamation did not reach the last stronghold of slavery, in Galveston, Texas, until June 19, 1865, more than two and a half years after it was issued.

"The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer."

So began General Order Number 3, as read by Major Gen. Gordon Granger on June 19, 1865.

The annual celebration of the events of June 19, 1865, is most commonly known as Juneteenth. It's the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.

Juneteenth is all about emancipation — freedom.

Two years ago, Juneteenth was formally recognized as a federal holiday.

For some Black Americans, Juneteenth is as much about independence as the Fourth of July.

While Juneteenth marks the freedom of Black slaves and the end of the darkest chapter in American history, the day should be embraced and celebrated by everyone.

It was not until that day on June 19, 1865 that Americans began to live up to the most sacred words in its most sacred secular text, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

You cannot embrace American freedom without embracing all of those words for all people.

We encourage our entire community to celebrate freedom and to support Juneteenth.