Americans are celebrating #Juneteenth https://abs.twimg.com/hashflags... draggable="false" alt=""> today, but what exactly does the day signify? 1/10
#Juneteenth https://abs.twimg.com/hashflags... draggable="false" alt=""> is the oldest nationally-celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. 2/10
Although the Emancipation Proclamation was signed on January 1, 1863, #Juneteenth https://abs.twimg.com/hashflags... draggable="false" alt=""> specifically refers to June 19, 1865—the day that 250,000 enslaved people in Texas learned of their freedom after Union General Gordon Granger arrived and announced Lincoln& #39;s proclamation. 3/10
But freedom didn& #39;t come for everyone on June 19, 1865 because the Emancipation Proclamation only applied to the Confederacy. Many enslavers deliberately suppressed information about freedom. Slavery officially ended nationwide with the 13th Amendment in December 1865. 5/10
Want to know where all the above photos are from?
Photo 1: A #Juneteenth https://abs.twimg.com/hashflags... draggable="false" alt=""> celebration in Richmond, Virginia in 1905. (Library of Congress)
Photo 2: Emancipation Park in Houston’s Third Ward was reopened for Juneteenth 2017 after a three-year renovation. (Michael Stravato)
Photo 3: A #Juneteenth https://abs.twimg.com/hashflags... draggable="false" alt=""> barbecue in 2014. (Zack Wittman)
Photo 4: People chanted for Antwon Rose at Pittsburgh’s 2018 Juneteenth parade after the 17-year-old was shot and killed by a police officer. (Andrew Russell)
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