It was on June 19, 1865, when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, where the last elements of the Confederate military surrendered. The Union commanders declared that all enslaved people were … free.
It was the final end of the hostilities and the last nail in the coffin of slavery. It was more than two months after General Robert E. Lee officially surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant in the home of Wilmer McLean — which also served as the local courthouse.
Juneteenth – also known as Freedom Day and Emancipation Day — was made a national holiday in 2021. Ironically, that status was never afforded to the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation and Lee’s surrender. Regardless, the end of slavery in America is worthy of national recognition and celebration. The end of slavery was the most important transitional moment in American history. The celebration was sadly diminished and compromised by the more than 100 years of black segregation and oppression in the old Confederate states and big cities.
Juneteenth has been characterized as a “black holiday,” – and most of the events focus on the black community as celebrants and participants. But is it really a black holiday? Or should it be considered as such?
The idea of a NATIONAL holiday suggests it is a unifying event that we the people ALL can celebrate. One common thread that travels through the entire national fabric is the universal view that the end of slavery was a good thing – something every American can celebrate.
While African Americans were the victims of slavery, they were not the primary force ending it – not because they did not want it ended, but because they lacked the political and military power to do so. Slavery was ended because a predominantly white segment of the population – with a predominantly white male leadership – opposed slavery in the legislatures, the courts and on the battlefield. The more than 100,000 Union soldiers who perished in the Civil War were mostly young white men. Another 225,000 died from diseases – and 275,000 were wounded.
To cast Juneteenth as a black holiday with black focused celebrations omits the historical contribution of non-blacks. Rather it is a holiday that should be celebrated by the nation as a whole. We should not only focus on the plight of the Negro, but on the nobility, courage, and sacrifice of the greater American community. The Juneteenth Holiday festivities should include recognition of all those who played critical roles in ending the evil institution.
Because of the essential role played by the Republican Party, I have often suggested that the GOP should be in the fore of celebrating Juneteenth. It was the political will and power of the new Republican Party – led by President Lincoln — that brought the issue of slavery to the breaking point and ultimately ended it.
It is not small irony that the contemporary Democratic Party has aligned with Juneteenth as a day of black celebration. It seems that creating Juneteenth as an exclusively black holiday is another example of woke identity politics trumping E Pluribus Unum.
If we celebrate as a significant historical event, then we should celebrate the entire history. It should not be carried out as an ethnic event, but an event that recognizes all the forces of good – black and white – that prevailed over evil.
The folks with the greatest historic stake in celebrating Juneteenth are those who benefited from the end of slavery AND those who ended it – those who were freed from human bondage and those who led the struggle for emancipation.
Today, I see Juneteenth as a potentially unifying celebration in which all Americans can celebrate – giving meaning to the word “national” in National Holiday.
As a conservative that tends to identify with the Republican Party for obvious reasons, I have always found celebration in Juneteenth. I have taken pride in the essential role my party and political ancestors played in ending slavery – and the role of the GOP in opposing the 100 years of Jim Crow de jure and de facto racism that followed the Civil War.
I have never viewed Juneteenth as a black celebration, and my only criticism of the National Holiday is not the worthiness of the celebration itself, but as it is celebrated. It does not reflect the whole story – the reason for all Americans to celebrate.
So, there ‘tis.