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Democratic Club of Smith County reflects on Juneteenth

The Democratic Club of Smith County would like to recognize the upcoming federal holiday, Juneteenth, which is a celebration of the announcement in Galveston, Texas, on June 19th, 1865, that all enslaved Americans were free.

After the official end of the Civil War in April of 1865, it was not until June 19th of that year that Major General Gordon Granger of the U.S. Army arrived in Galveston and took charge of the Trans-Mississippi Department, the last major army of the Confederacy. Upon his arrival in Galveston, Granger immediately issued General Order Number 3.

It read: “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 personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them become that between employer and hired labor.”

Black people throughout Texas met the news Order No. 3 brought with celebrations in the streets, but emancipation was not a gift from white Americans. Black Americans had fought alongside soldiers of the Northern States, worked in fields so cotton could continue to be produced for use by both sides, and hidden U.S. Soldiers, often at the cost of their own lives. On June 19, 1866, Texas freed people gathered to celebrate the coming of their freedom with prayers, speeches, food, and socializing. By the following year, eager to explain to Black citizens the voting rights that had been put in place by the Military Reconstruction Act in early March 1867, the Federal Government encouraged such celebrations, and the tradition of “Juneteenth” began to spread to Black communities across the nation.

After the 13th Amendment was ratified and added to the Constitution, the 14th Amendment soon followed in 1868 ensuring that “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

Since that period of time, The United States of America has strived with limited success to live up to the promises and ideals set forth in both the 13th and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Although Texas has celebrated Juneteenth as a state holiday since 1980, it wasn’t until 2021 that President Joe Biden designated Juneteenth as a federal holiday.

And so, as we gather to celebrate the 158th Juneteenth, let us not see it as a singular event but as the beginning of a promise to all Americans whose ancestors suffered through slavery that they too should have and enjoy all the rights and privileges to which any other American is entitled — a promise that we must always endeavor to make a reality.

Dr. William Geoffrey Carlton

President, Democratic Club of Smith County