Misinformation about the reason we celebrate Juneteenth persists | Opinion

As we celebrated our newest federal holiday, Juneteenth, last month, I heard so much misinformation that I was truly disturbed. Some of our local broadcasters and national reporters have no clue about President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, yet they made reference to it as the reason for celebrating Juneteenth. They said Texans were late in getting the news that it had freed them.

President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation Jan. 1, 1863, in the middle of the Civil War. It begins, "That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free . …"

We must remember that our nation had two governments, one headed by Lincoln and the other, the Confederate States of America, by Jefferson Davis. Lincoln's army was at war with Davis' army. Lincoln had no power to tell Davis what to do with his troops or the slaves in his states. If he had such power, the Civil War would not have lasted four years.

Yet every newscaster I heard said the Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves and that June 19, 1865, was the day those Texans finally heard about it. We in Tennessee did hear about it soon after it was issued, but it didn't mean anything because our state was not in "rebellion against the United States," so the proclamation did not include us. Even if it had had any power in the Confederate States, Tennessee slaves would still have been in bondage.

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Black Knoxvillians and those Texans alike were officially freed by the U.S. Constitution's 13th Amendment, which was ratified Dec. 6, 1865. Section I states, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

Tennessee slaves were freed almost a year earlier when the citizens of this state voted to end slavery Feb. 22, 1865. In Knox County of those eligible to vote, 2,452 voted for theamendment and three voted against it.

Texas ratified the 13th Amendment Feb. 18, 1870. That, not the Emancipation Proclamation, is what officially set the state's slaves free. I have often wondered why I never heard about it when I was in school. Did my teachers know about it, or were they as confused about it as too many people are today?

The Emancipation Proclamation is a historic document to be held in high esteem. President Lincoln's heart was in the right place with its sentiment, but he knew it would fall on deaf ears. After all, the war was being waged to protect slavery. His elegant words had no chance of being heard in the slave-holding states, and they were ignored.

I am sure as we celebrate Juneteenth from year to year we will get more misinformation on how the holiday came about. But as a history buff it saddens me that responsible people will continue to repeat nonfactual information about why it is celebrated.

Robert J. Booker is a freelance writer and former executive director of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center. He may be reached at 865-546-1576.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Opinion: Misinformation about the reason for Juneteenth persists