National Educational Network, Inc. and 

NAACP Metuchen-Edison Area Branch (NJ) present:

Juneteenth NJ

History of Juneteenth

Juneteenth NJ 2006

• WHAT IS JUNETEENTH?

  Juneteenth or June 19, 1865, is considered the date when the last slaves in America were freed. Although the rumors of freedom were widespread prior to this, actual emancipation did not come until General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas and issued General Order No. 3, on June 19, almost two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
   

  BUT DIDN'T THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION FREE THE ENSLAVED?
   

  President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, notifying the states in rebellion against the Union that if they did not cease their rebellion and return to the Union by January 1, 1863, he would declare their slaves forever free. Neeedless to say, the proclamation was ignored by those states that seceded from the Union. Futhermore, the proclamation did not apply to those slave-holding states that did not rebel against the Union. As a result slaves were unaffected by the provisions of the proclamation. It would take a civil war to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to formally outlaw slavery in the United States.
   

  WHEN IS JUNETEENTH CELEBRATED?

  Annually, on June 19, in more than 200 cities in the United States. Texas (and Oklahoma) is the only state that has made Juneteenth a legal holiday. Some cities sponsor week-long celebrations, culminating on June 19, while others hold shorter celebrations.
   

  WHY IS JUNETEENTH CELEBRATED?

  It symbolizes the end of slavery. Juneteenth has come to symbolize for many African-Americans what the fourth of July symbolizes for all Americans -- freedom. It serves as a historical milestone reminding Amricans of the triumph of the human spirit over the cruelty of slavery. It honors those African-Americans ancestors who survived the inhumane institution of bondage, as well as demonstrating pride in the marvelous legacy of resistance and perserverance they left us.
   

  WHY NOT JUST CELEBRATE THE FOURTH OF JULY LIKE OTHER AMERICANS?

  Blacks do celebrate the Fourth of July in honor of American Independence Day, but history reminds us that blacks were still enslaved when the United States obtained its independence.
   

  WHY WERE SLAVES IN TEXAS THE LAST TO KNOW THAT THEY WERE FREE?

  During the Civil War, Texas did not experience any significant invasion by Union forces. Although the Union army made several attempts to invade Texas, they were thwarted by Confererate troops. As a result, slavery in Texas continued to thrive. In fact, because slavery in Texas experienced such a minor interruption in its operation, many slave owners from other slave-holding states brought their slaves to Texas to wait out the war. News of the emancipation was suppressed due to the overwhelming influence of the slave owners.
   

  WHY WE CELEBRATE

  J -- Juneteenth represents the joy of freedom--the chance for a new beginning.
  U -- Unless we expose the truth about the African-American slave experience, Americans won't be truly free.
  N -- Never must we forget our ancestors' endurance of one of the worst slave experiences in human history.
  E -- Every American has benefitted from the wealth blacks created through over 200 years of free labor and Juneteenth allows us to acknowledge that debt.
  T -- To encourage every former slave-holding state to follow Texas' (and Oklahoma's) example and make Juneteenth a state holiday.
  E -- Everyday in America, blacks are reminded of the legacy of slavery. Juneteenth counters that by reminding us of the promise of deliverance.
  E -- Even on the journey to discover who we are, Juneteenth allows us to reflect on where we've been, where we're at and where we're going as a people.
  N -- Never give up hope is the legacy our enslaved ancestors left. It was this legacy that produced black heroism in the Civil War and helped launch the modern civil rights era. It is this legacy we celebrate.
  T -- To proclaim for all the world to hear, that human rights must never again become subservient to property rights.
  H -- History books have only told a small part of the story; Juneteenth gives us a chance to set the record straight.
   

  FREEDOM IS ALWAYS WORTH CELEBRATING!

  source: http://www.actom.com/njclchistory.htm

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• Juneteenth celebrates the freedom of over 250,000 slaves at the close of the Civil War. The holiday is based on events that occurred mainly in Texas but is now celebrated nationwide. The celebration takes its name from June 19, 1865, the day federal troops arrived in Galveston to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. Although the Proclamation had taken effect on January 1, 1863, it freed few, if any, slaves.

  • Up until integration, Juneteenth was the one day a year in Texas when Blacks could go to restaurants, sit downstairs in movie theaters, go to parks, the zoo, etc.
     

• It should be noted that, because the Emancipation Proclamation applied only to the states that had seceded from the Union, the final surrender of the Confederacy did not end slavery altogether throughout the United States, as four slaveholding states—Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri—never left the Union, and slavery was also technically legal (though not widespread) in territories that make up the present states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Slaves in these states and territories did not receive their freedom until the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on December 6, 1865. Even so, December 6 is not known to be observed anywhere as marking the end of slavery.
   

• SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneteenth

More Links on Juneteenth and Slavery:

State and Federal Laws

• http://www.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/governor/njnewsline/view_article_archives.pl?id=1843

• http://www.assemblydems.com/press_database/January%202004/ASSEMBLY%20PANEL%20RELEASES%20GREEN%20MEASURE.htm

• http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2002/Bills/PL02/75_.HTM Read here to find out about Amistad and NJ.

• http://www.njstatelib.org/NJLH/lh2002/govmess/ch75gov.htm

• http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html

• http://www.angelo.edu/services/library/govdocs/african.htm

Statue of Liberty Controversy:

• http://data2.itc.nps.gov/parks/stli/ppdocuments/ACF2A89.doc A paper looking into the rumor that the Statue of Liberty was dedicated to the end of slavery in the US and Lady Liberty was modeled after an Egyptian (black woman)

• http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/jhaskins/ In The Statue of Liberty: America's Proud Lady, I state that the impetus for the creation of the statue--and its presentation to the United States of America by the people of France--was the abolition of slavery in the United States.

Slavery and Juneteenth History Links

• http://www.19thofjune.com/contact.html

• www.juneteenth.com

• http://www.actom.com/njclchistory.htm

• http://www.njdigitalhighway.org/immigration_ethnicity_stud.php

• http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/sthtml/sthome.htmlSlaves and the Courts, 1740-1860 contains just over a hundred pamphlets and books (published between 1772 and 1889) concerning the difficult and troubling experiences of African and African-American slaves in the American colonies and the United States. The documents, most from the Law Library and the Rare Book and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress, comprise an assortment of trials and cases, reports, arguments, accounts, examinations of cases and decisions, proceedings, journals, a letter, and other works of historical importance.

• http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/history/hs_es_jersey.htm

• http://www.slavenorth.com/newjersey.htm Slavery and the North. Did you know that slavery was not just in the south?  There were slaves right here in New Jersey (including Middlesex County).

• http://www.scc.rutgers.edu/njwomenshistory/wpnj2/3aSlavery.htm
  Slavery was introduced into the colony of New Jersey in the 17th century. this website shows related historical artifacts.

• http://www.africanburialground.com/ Read about an African slave burial ground in Manhattan and how New York had the second largest enslaved population outside of South Carolina at the eve of the American Revolution and that the enslaved Africans built early New York.

• http://www.coxwashington.com/news/content/reporters/stories/BC_NY_SLAVERY02_COX.html
  In a city known for fighting to abolish slavery, there is another story: the tale of the slaves who built the road that became Broadway and the wall that named Wall Street.

• http://zorak.monmouth.edu/~afam/ This site is an educational service and genealogy source for students, teachers, agencies and individuals interested in local African American history.  It provides information, images and documents on African American communities and families, both free and enslaved, in Monmouth County, New Jersey before the Civil War.  This site also features an overview of the African American experience in the Ante-bellum United States.
   
  

• http://library.uncg.edu/slavery_petitions/index.asp Founded in 1991, the Race and Slavery Petitions Project is designed to locate, collect, organize, and publish virtually all surviving legislative petitions, and a large selected group of county court petitions concerning slavery in the South. The project covers the period from the beginnings of statehood to the end of slavery (1770s to 1860s).

• http://www.civilwarhome.com/freedmen.htm

• http://amistad.mysticseaport.org/timeline/united.states.html

• http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAslavery.htm

• http://www.crf-usa.org/project_history/nights_forever.htm

• http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/JJ/lkj1.html
  JUNETEENTH. On June 19 ("Juneteenth"), 1865, Union general Gordon Granger read the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston, thus belatedly bringing about the freeing of 250,000 slaves in Texas. The tidings of freedom reached slaves gradually as individual plantation owners read the proclamation to their bondsmen over the months following the end of the war. The news elicited an array of personal celebrations, some of which have been described in The Slave Narratives of Texas (1974).

• http://www.qesnrecit.qc.ca/mpages/title.htm

  THE BLACK COMMUNITY IN THE HISTORY OF QUÉBEC AND CANADA

Classroom Activities and Resources:

http://www.njstatelib.org/NJ_Information/Digital_Collections/AAHCG/index.html
The New Jersey African American History Curriculum Guide: Grades 9 to 12

http://www.bergen.org/ourstory/Resources/slave&war/Slavery_NJ.htm

TIMELINE http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/99/railroad/tl.html

FACES OF FREEDOM: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/99/railroad/hfame.html

http://www.njpep.org/tutorials/BrownvBoard/curriculum.htm

HOTLIST: http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/listslaveryth.html

PBS: http://www.pbs.org/wonders/Classrm/lesson3.htm

• http://alumni.cc.gettysburg.edu/~s330558/Mainslaverypage.html

• http://amistad.mysticseaport.org/teaching/curriculum/welcome.html

• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/home.html

• http://www.njdigitalhighway.org

• http://www.safepassageohio.org/home.asp

• http://www.state.nj.us/njded/cccs/s6_ss.htm (NJ state standards)
   

Funding Sources:

• http://www.state.nj.us/education/bp-ss/bp/amistad/app.pdf

NEWS:

• http://www.juneteenth.us/pressrelease13.html

• http://apiecenj.org/apiece_exchange_with_JDoolan.htm

• http://www.state.nj.us/njded/news/2003/0502ami.htm

Other Black websites of interest:

• http://www.trentonlibrary.state.nj.us/african-americanweblinks.htm

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