The Juneteenth Celebration

Whereas, America’s Independence Day Movement, initiated by the Declaration of Independence and the “4th of July”, 1776, did not include the enslaved descendants of African-Americans nor were they recognized as full human beings. Freedom from slavery was initiated by the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, and formally announced by Union General Gordon Granger in Galveston, Texas on the “19th of June”, 1865, through the reading of General Order No. 3, to the last group of slaves in bondage, creating America’s 2nd Independence Day Celebration and the oldest African-American holiday observance, the “19th of June”, Juneteenth Independence Day.