108-654: Juneteenth , officially Juneteenth National Independence Day , is a federal holiday in the United States . It is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States. The holiday's name is a portmanteau of the words "June" and "nineteenth", as it was on June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at
216-511: A YMCA on 135th Street in Harlem , then "the culture capital of black America". He met Langston Hughes , "Harlem's unofficial diplomat" of the Depression era, and one—as one of the country's celebrity black authors—who could live from his writing. Hughes introduced him to the black literary establishment with Communist sympathies. He met several artists who would influence his later life, including
324-511: A "holiday of significance ... particularly to the blacks of Texas," it became the first state to establish Juneteenth as a state holiday. The bill passed through the Texas Legislature in 1979 and was officially made a state holiday on January 1, 1980. Before 2000, three more U.S. states officially observed the day, and over the next two decades it was recognized as an official observance in all states, except South Dakota , until becoming
432-508: A December 1955 essay, "Living With Music", in High Fidelity magazine. Ellison scholar John S. Wright contends that this deftness with the ins-and-outs of electronic devices went on to inform Ellison's approach to writing and the novel form. Ellison remained at Tuskegee until 1936, and decided to leave before completing the requirements for a degree. Desiring to study sculpture, he moved to New York City on July 5, 1936, and found lodging at
540-466: A Monday, and also established Columbus Day . In 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the bill that created Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day . It was first observed three years later, although some states resisted making it a state holiday. It was finally celebrated both nationally and by each of the states in 2000. Dr. King's birthday is January 15th. On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed
648-553: A Thanksgiving proclamation designating November 26, 1789 as a day of "public thanksgiving and prayer" for the "People of the United States”. Thanksgiving has been proclaimed in the U.S. for various months and days of the week, including March, August, September, November, December, and on Sundays. Celebrated on December 25 around the world, Christmas is the day that Christians remember the birth and incarnation of Jesus Christ . Christmas has been celebrated for over 2,000 years. In
756-573: A collection of political, social, and critical essays, and Going to the Territory (1986). The New York Times dubbed him "among the gods of America's literary Parnassus ". A posthumous novel, Juneteenth , was published after being assembled from voluminous notes Ellison left upon his death. Ralph Waldo Ellison, named after Ralph Waldo Emerson , was born in Oklahoma City , Oklahoma, to Lewis Alfred Ellison and Ida Millsap, on March 1, 1913. He
864-477: A consultant to the Hudson Institute in an attempt to broaden its scope beyond defense-related research. In 1964, Ellison published Shadow and Act , a collection of essays, and began to teach at Bard College , Rutgers University and Yale University , while continuing to work on his novel. The following year, a Book Week poll of 200 critics, authors, and editors was released that proclaimed Invisible Man
972-516: A day of remembrance and action and a paid holiday for city employees). North Dakota approved recognition of Juneteenth as a state-recognized annual holiday on April 13, 2021, with Hawaii becoming the 49th state to recognize the holiday on June 16, 2021. On June 16, 2020, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem proclaimed that the following June 19, 2020, was to be Juneteenth Day for that year only, spurning calls for it to be recognized annually, rather than just for 2020. In February 2022, South Dakota became
1080-638: A day of shared commemoration across the United States ;– created, preserved, and spread by ordinary African Americans – of slavery's wartime demise. Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation in the midst of the Civil War on September 22, 1862, declaring that if the rebels did not end the fighting and rejoin the Union, all enslaved people in the Confederacy would be freed on
1188-637: A federal holiday in 1879. In 1888 and 1894, respectively, Decoration Day (now Memorial Day ) and Labor Day were created. Armistice Day was established in 1938 to honor the end of World War I , and the scope of the holiday was expanded to honor Americans who fought in World War II and the Korean War when it was renamed Veterans Day in 1954. In 1968, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act gave several holidays "floating" dates so that they always fall on
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#17328545853391296-554: A federal holiday, leading walks in many states to promote the idea. In 2016–17 at the age of 89, she led a symbolic walk from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington D.C. to advocate for the federal holiday. When it was officially made a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, she was standing beside President Joe Biden as he signed the bill. Juneteenth became one of five date-specific federal holidays along with New Year's Day (January 1), Independence Day (July 4), Veterans Day (November 11), and Christmas Day (December 25). Juneteenth
1404-934: A federal holiday. Since the 1980s and 1990s, the holiday has been more widely celebrated among African-American communities and has seen increasing mainstream attention in the US. In 1991, there was an exhibition by the Anacostia Community Museum (part of the Smithsonian Institution ) called "Juneteenth '91, Freedom Revisited." In 1994, a group of community leaders gathered at Christian Unity Baptist Church in New Orleans to work for greater national celebration of Juneteenth. Expatriates have celebrated it in cities abroad, such as Paris. Some US military bases in other countries sponsor celebrations, in addition to those of private groups. In 1999, Ralph Ellison 's novel Juneteenth
1512-669: A festival and reunion, known as el Día de los Negros on June 19. Many former British colonies celebrate Emancipation Day on August 1, commemorating the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 . Since 2021, the United Nations has designated August 31 as the International Day for People of African Descent. On September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln announced that the Emancipation Proclamation would go into effect on January 1, 1863, promising freedom to enslaved people in all of
1620-495: A law changing its ceremonial holiday to a paid state holiday. Some cities and counties have also recognized Juneteenth through proclamation. In 2020, Juneteenth was formally recognized by New York City (as an annual official city holiday and public school holiday, starting in 2021). Cook County, Illinois , adopted an ordinance to make Juneteenth a paid county holiday. The City and County of Honolulu recognizes it as an "annual day of honor and reflection", and Portland, Oregon (as
1728-436: A letter to Wright, dated August 18, 1945, Ellison poured out his anger with party leaders: "If they want to play ball with the bourgeoisie they needn't think they can get away with it. ... Maybe we can't smash the atom, but we can, with a few well chosen, well written words, smash all that crummy filth to hell." In the wake of this disillusion, Ellison began writing Invisible Man, a novel that was, in part, his response to
1836-609: A living art" and to "the glamour he would always associate with the literary life." Through Sprague, Ellison became familiar with Fyodor Dostoevsky 's Crime and Punishment and Thomas Hardy 's Jude the Obscure , identifying with the "brilliant, tortured anti-heroes" of those works. As a child, Ellison evidenced what would become a lifelong interest in audio technology, starting by taking apart and rebuilding radios, and later moving on to constructing and customizing elaborate hi-fi stereo systems as an adult. He discussed this passion in
1944-443: A major awakening moment. In 1934, he began to work as a desk clerk at the university library, where he read James Joyce and Gertrude Stein . Librarian Walter Bowie Williams enthusiastically let Ellison share in his knowledge. A major influence upon Ellison was English teacher Morteza Drexel Sprague, to whom Ellison later dedicated his essay collection Shadow and Act . He opened Ellison's eyes to "the possibilities of literature as
2052-499: A paid holiday, including New York, Washington, and Virginia. In 2020, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker issued a proclamation that the day would be marked as "Juneteenth Independence Day." This followed the filing of bills by both the House and Senate to make Juneteenth a state holiday. Baker did not comment on these bills specifically but promised to grant the observance of Juneteenth greater importance. On June 16, 2021, Illinois adopted
2160-426: A poet. In 1921, Ellison's mother and her children moved to Gary, Indiana , where she had a brother. According to Ellison, his mother felt that "my brother and I would have a better chance of reaching manhood if we grew up in the north." When she did not find a job and her brother lost his, the family returned to Oklahoma, where Ellison worked as a busboy, a shoeshine boy, hotel waiter, and a dentist's assistant. From
2268-617: A quadrennial presidential election , is considered a paid holiday for federal employees in the Washington, D.C., area by the Office of Personnel Management . It is not considered a federal holiday in the United States equivalent to the eleven holidays mentioned above. Although many states recognize most or all federal holidays as state holidays, the federal government cannot enact laws to compel them to do so. States can recognize other days as state holidays that are not federal holidays. For example,
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#17328545853392376-551: A result, observations of the holiday declined again, though it was still celebrated in Texas. Juneteenth soon saw a revival as Black people began tying their struggle to that of ending slavery. In Atlanta , some campaigners for equality wore Juneteenth buttons. During the 1968 Poor People's Campaign to Washington, DC , called by Rev. Ralph Abernathy , the Southern Christian Leadership Conference made June 19
2484-610: A sense of heritage and pride in black youth." Celebrations are commonly accompanied by voter registration efforts , the performing of plays, and retelling stories. The holiday is also a celebration of soul food and other food with African-American influences. In Tourism Review International , Anne Donovan and Karen DeBres write that " Barbecue is the centerpiece of most Juneteenth celebrations." Major news networks host specials and marathons on national outlets featuring prominent Black voices. The Black Seminoles of Nacimiento in Mexico hold
2592-530: A union contract, might only receive their standard pay for working on a federal holiday, depending on the company policy. Federal law also provides for the declaration of other public holidays by the President of the United States . Generally the president will provide a reasoning behind the elevation of the day, and call on the people of the United States to observe the day "with appropriate ceremonies and activities." Examples of presidentially declared holidays were
2700-557: A writer for The Chicago Defender . While he wrote Invisible Man , she helped support Ellison financially by working for American Medical Center for Burma Frontiers (the charity supporting Gordon S. Seagrave 's medical missionary work ). In 1946, Ellison composed and wrote the lyrics for at least two songs, "Flirty" and "It Would Only Hurt Me If I Knew". From 1947 to 1951, he earned some money writing book reviews but spent most of his time working on Invisible Man . Fanny also helped type Ellison's longhand text and assisted him in editing
2808-452: A year, and found the money to make a down payment on a trumpet, using it to play with local musicians, and to take further music lessons. At Douglass, he was influenced by principal Inman E. Page and his daughter, music teacher Zelia N. Breaux . Ellison applied twice for admission to Tuskegee Institute , the prestigious all-black university in Alabama founded by Booker T. Washington . He
2916-400: Is Texas Independence Day , and "optional holidays", such as Good Friday . Private employers are not required to observe federal or state holidays, the key exception being federally-chartered banks. Some private employers, often by a union contract, pay a differential such as time-and-a-half or double-time to employees who work on some federal holidays. Employees not specifically covered by
3024-472: Is a large employer, the holidays are expensive. If a holiday is controversial, opposition will generally prevent bills enacting them from passing. For example, Martin Luther King Jr. Day , marking King's birthday, took much effort to pass and for all states to recognize it. It was not until 2000 that this holiday was officially observed in all 50 states. The following list is an example of holidays that have been proposed and reasons why they are not observed at
3132-560: Is always on a Thursday. The rest are on fixed dates. A fixed date holiday that falls on a weekend (Saturday and Sunday) is usually observed for federal employees on the closest weekday : a holiday falling on a Saturday is observed on the preceding Friday, while a holiday falling on a Sunday is observed on the succeeding Monday. The official names come from the statute that defines holidays for federal employees. 1938 (federal holiday) 1941 (received permanent observation date) Inauguration Day , held on January 20 every four years following
3240-673: Is no evidence that Granger or any of his troops proclaimed the Ordinance by reading it aloud. All indications are that copies of the Ordinance were posted in public places, including the Negro Church on Broadway, since renamed Reedy Chapel A.M.E. Church . On June 21, 2014, the Galveston Historical Foundation and Texas Historical Commission erected a Juneteenth plaque where the Osterman Building once stood signifying
3348-427: Is the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was declared a holiday in 1986. Juneteenth also falls within the statutory Honor America Days period, which lasts for 21 days from Flag Day (June 14) to Independence Day (July 4). Texas was the first state to recognize the date by enacted law, in 1980. By 2002, eight states officially recognized Juneteenth and four years later 15 states recognized
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3456-661: The Albert Schweitzer Professor of Humanities, serving from 1970 to 1980. In 1975, Ellison was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters , and his hometown of Oklahoma City honored him with the dedication of the Ralph Waldo Ellison Library. Continuing to teach, Ellison published mostly essays, and in 1984, he received the New York City College 's Langston Hughes Medal . In 1985, he
3564-597: The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards ; his artistic achievements included work as a sculptor, musician, photographer, and college professor as well as his writing output. He taught at Bard College, Rutgers University, the University of Chicago , and New York University. Ellison was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers . After Ellison's death, more manuscripts were discovered in his home, resulting in
3672-603: The Civil Rights Movement for his book Who Speaks for the Negro? In 1958, Ellison returned to the United States to take a position teaching American and Russian literature at Bard College and to begin a second novel, Juneteenth . During the 1950s, he corresponded with his lifelong friend, the writer Albert Murray . In their letters they commented on the development of their careers, the Civil Rights Movement , and other common interests including jazz. Much of this material
3780-534: The Constitution , ruling that "the Christmas holiday has become largely secularized", and that "by giving federal employees a paid vacation day on Christmas, the government is doing no more than recognizing the cultural significance of the holiday". Most of the 11 U.S. federal holidays are also state holidays. Five of the "floating" date holidays always fall on a Monday; the remaining floating holiday, Thanksgiving,
3888-658: The District of Columbia has formally recognized the holiday in some way. Juneteenth is also celebrated by the Mascogos , descendants of Black Seminoles who escaped from slavery in 1852 and settled in Coahuila , Mexico . The day was recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, when the 117th US Congress enacted and President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. Juneteenth became
3996-469: The Emancipation Proclamation which promised freedom, singing traditional songs such as " Swing Low, Sweet Chariot " and " Lift Every Voice and Sing ", and reading of works by noted African-American writers, such as Ralph Ellison and Maya Angelou . Celebrations include picnics, rodeos , street fairs, cookouts, family reunions , park parties, historical reenactments , blues festivals, and Miss Juneteenth contests. Red food and drinks are traditional during
4104-657: The House of Representatives by a 415–14 vote on June 16. Federal holiday in the United States Federal holidays in the United States are 11 calendar dates designated by the U.S. federal government as holidays. On these days non-essential U.S. federal government offices are closed and federal employees are paid for the day off. Federal holidays are designated by the United States Congress in Title V of
4212-479: The National Football League , Nike , began treating Juneteenth as a company holiday, providing a paid day off to their workers, and Google Calendar added Juneteenth to its U.S. Holidays calendar. Also in 2020, a number of major universities formally recognized Juneteenth, either as a "day of reflection" or as a university holiday with paid time off for faculty and staff. The 2020 mother-daughter film on
4320-541: The Northern United States could not take time off or simply dropped the celebration. The Great Depression forced many Black people off farms and into the cities to find work, where they had difficulty taking the day off to celebrate. From 1936 to 1951, the Texas State Fair served as a destination for celebrating the holiday, contributing to its revival. In 1936, an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people joined
4428-641: The Reconstruction Treaties of late 1866, when tribes such as the Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, and others were forced to sign new treaties that required them to free their slaves. The freedom of formerly enslaved people in Texas was given state law status in a series of Texas Supreme Court decisions between 1868 and 1874. Formerly enslaved people in Galveston rejoiced after General Order No. 3. One year later, on June 19, 1866, freedmen in Texas organized
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4536-483: The United States Code ( 5 U.S.C. § 6103 ). Congress only has authority to create holidays for federal institutions (including federally-owned properties), employees, and the District of Columbia . As a general rule of courtesy, custom, and sometimes regulation, other institutions, such as banks, businesses, schools, and the financial markets , may be closed on federal holidays. In various parts of
4644-647: The "Solidarity Day of the Poor People's Campaign." In the subsequent revival, large celebrations in Minneapolis and Milwaukee emerged, as well as across the Eastern United States. In 1974, Houston began holding large-scale celebrations again, and Fort Worth, Texas , followed the next year. Around 30,000 people attended festivities at Sycamore Park in Fort Worth the following year. The 1978 Milwaukee celebration
4752-558: The 1920s and 1930s, often centering on a food festival . Participants in the Great Migration brought these celebrations to the rest of the country. During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, these celebrations were eclipsed by the nonviolent determination to achieve civil rights, but grew in popularity again in the 1970s with a focus on African-American freedom and African-American arts . Beginning with Texas by proclamation in 1938, and by legislation in 1979, every U.S. state and
4860-517: The 2000s and 2010s, activists continued a long process to push Congress towards official recognition of Juneteenth. Organizations such as the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation sought a Congressional designation of Juneteenth as a national day of observance. By 2016, 45 states were recognizing the occasion. Activist Opal Lee , often referred to as the "grandmother of Juneteenth", campaigned for decades to make Juneteenth
4968-562: The Communist Party, he used his new fame to speak out for literature as a moral instrument. In 1955 he traveled to Europe, visiting and lecturing, settling for a time in Rome, where he wrote an essay that appeared in a 1957 Bantam anthology called A New Southern Harvest . Robert Penn Warren was in Rome during the same period, and the two writers became close friends. Later, Warren would interview Ellison about his thoughts on race, history, and
5076-576: The Negroes of Texas that they were free; and Whereas, since that time, Texas Negroes have observed this day with suitable holiday ceremony, except during such years when the day comes on a Sunday; when the Governor of the State is asked to proclaim the following day as the holiday for State observance by Negroes; and Whereas, June 19, 1938, this year falls on Sunday; NOW, THEREFORE, I, JAMES V. ALLRED, Governor of
5184-633: The South for the North and the West Coast. As historian Isabel Wilkerson writes, "The people from Texas took Juneteenth Day to Los Angeles, Oakland , Seattle , and other places they went." In 1945, Juneteenth was introduced in San Francisco by a migrant from Texas, Wesley Johnson. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement focused the attention of African Americans on expanding freedom and integrating. As
5292-552: The State of Texas recognizes all federal holidays except Columbus Day, and recognizes the Friday after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and the day after Christmas as state holidays. Texas does not follow the federal rule of closing either the Friday before, if a holiday falls on a Saturday, or the Monday after if a holiday falls on a Sunday. Offices are open on those Fridays or Mondays. Texas has "partial staffing holidays", such as March 2 , which
5400-470: The State of Texas, do set aside and proclaim the day of June 20, 1938, as the date for observance of EMANCIPATION DAY in Texas, and do urge all members of the Negro race in Texas to observe the day in a manner appropriate to its importance to them. Seventy thousand people attended a "Juneteenth Jamboree" in 1951. From 1940 through 1970, in the second wave of the Great Migration , more than five million Black people left Texas, Louisiana and other parts of
5508-464: The Trans-Mississippi did not formally surrender until June 2. On the morning of June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived on the island of Galveston to take command of the more than 2,000 federal troops recently landed in the department of Texas to enforce the emancipation of its enslaved population and oversee Reconstruction , nullifying all laws passed within Texas during
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#17328545853395616-661: The United States, Christmas Day as a federal or public holiday is sometimes objected to by various non-Christians, usually due to its ties with Christianity . In December 1999, the Western Division of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio , in the case Ganulin v. United States , denied the charge that Christmas Day's federal status violated the Establishment Clause of
5724-547: The United States." President Biden's annual proclamation in 2024 began, "On June 19, 1865, freedom finally came for the 250,000 enslaved people of Texas. That day, which would become known as Juneteenth, the Army arrived to enforce what had already been the law of the land for two and a half years—the Emancipation Proclamation". On October 3, 1789, at the request of the U.S. Congress, President George Washington issued
5832-526: The artist Romare Bearden and the author Richard Wright (with whom he would have a long and complicated relationship). After Ellison wrote a book review for Wright, Wright encouraged him to write fiction as a career. Ellison's first published story was "Hymie's Bull", inspired by his 1933 hoboing on a train with his uncle to get to Tuskegee. From 1937 to 1944, Ellison had more than 20 book reviews, as well as short stories and articles, published in magazines such as New Challenge and The New Masses . Wright
5940-471: The award, he was unsatisfied with the book. Ellison ultimately wrote more than 2,000 pages of this second novel but never finished it. Ellison died on April 16, 1994, of pancreatic cancer and was interred in a crypt at Trinity Church Cemetery and Mausoleum in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan . Invisible Man won the 1953 US National Book Award for Fiction . The award
6048-422: The biblical Jubilee , in which enslaved people were freed), took place on September 22, January 1, July 4, August 1, April 6, and November 1, among other dates. When emancipation finally came to Texas , on June 19, 1865, as the southern rebellion collapsed, celebration was widespread. While that date did not actually mark the unequivocal end of slavery, even in Texas, June 19 came to be
6156-449: The celebrations, including red velvet cake and strawberry soda , with red meant to represent resilience and joy. Juneteenth celebrations often include lectures and exhibitions on African-American culture. The modern holiday places much emphasis on teaching about African-American heritage. Karen M. Thomas wrote in Emerge that "community leaders have latched on to [Juneteenth] to help instill
6264-486: The connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere. Longstanding urban legend places a historic reading of General Order No. 3 at Ashton Villa ; but no historical evidence supports this claim. There
6372-599: The country, state and city holidays may be observed concurrently with federal holidays. The history of national holidays in the United States dates back to June 28, 1870, when Congress created national holidays "to correspond with similar laws of States around the District...and...in every State of the Union." Although at first applicable only to federal employees in the District of Columbia , Congress extended coverage in 1885 to all federal employees. The original four holidays in 1870 were: George Washington's Birthday became
6480-481: The day through Senate Joint Resolution 11 and House Joint Resolution 56. In 2013, the U.S. Senate passed Senate Resolution 175, acknowledging Lula Briggs Galloway (late president of the National Association of Juneteenth Lineage), who "successfully worked to bring national recognition to Juneteenth Independence Day", and the continued leadership of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation. In
6588-476: The day with an alternative holiday or observance. South Dakota is the only state to recognize Native American Day as an official state holiday. Ralph Ellison Ralph Waldo Ellison (March 1, 1913 – April 16, 1994) was an American writer, literary critic , and scholar best known for his novel Invisible Man , which won the National Book Award in 1953. Ellison wrote Shadow and Act (1964),
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#17328545853396696-468: The days of the funerals for former Presidents Ronald Reagan , George H. W. Bush , and Gerald Ford ; federal government offices were closed and employees given a paid holiday. In addition, occasionally the President will grant Christmas Eve as a holiday or partial holiday (the latter generally being 4 hours for full-time employees). Many federal holidays have been proposed. As the U.S. federal government
6804-700: The end of the American Civil War . In the Civil War period, slavery came to an end in various areas of the United States at different times. Many enslaved Southerners escaped, demanded wages, stopped work, or took up arms against the Confederacy of slave states. In January 1865, Congress finally proposed the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution for national abolition of slavery. By June 1865, almost all enslaved were freed by
6912-479: The father of a neighborhood friend, he received free lessons for playing trumpet and alto saxophone, and would go on to become the school bandmaster. Ida remarried three times after Lewis died. However, the family life was precarious, and Ralph worked various jobs during his youth and teens to assist with family support. While attending Douglass High School , he also found time to play on the school's football team. He graduated from high school in 1931. He worked for
7020-492: The federal level. Some of these holidays are observed at the state level. Some Native American groups protest the observance of Columbus Day , mainly due to the controversy of Columbus' arrival to the Americas. Alaska , Colorado , Florida , Hawaii , Iowa , Louisiana , Maine , Michigan , Minnesota , New Mexico , Nevada , North Carolina , Oregon , South Dakota , Vermont , Washington , and Wisconsin do not recognize Columbus Day. Hawaii and South Dakota mark
7128-419: The first day of the year. On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the final Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that all enslaved people in the Confederate States of America in rebellion and not in Union hands were freed. Planters and other slaveholders from eastern states had migrated into Texas to escape the fighting, and many brought enslaved people with them, increasing by the thousands the enslaved population in
7236-757: The first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was adopted in 1983. The holiday is considered the "longest-running African-American holiday" and has been called "America's second Independence Day." Juneteenth falls on June 19 and has often been celebrated on the third Saturday in June. Historian Mitch Kachun considers that celebrations of the end of slavery have three goals: "to celebrate, to educate, and to agitate." Early celebrations consisted of baseball , fishing, and rodeos. African Americans were often prohibited from using public facilities for their celebrations, so they were often held at churches or near water. Celebrations were characterized by elaborate large meals and people wearing their best clothing. It
7344-476: The first of what became annual commemorations of "Jubilee Day." Early celebrations were used as political rallies to give voting instructions to newly freed African Americans. Other independence observances occurred on January 1 or 4. In some cities, Black people were barred from using public parks because of state-sponsored segregation of facilities. Across parts of Texas, freed people pooled their funds to purchase land to hold their celebrations. The day
7452-415: The holiday's celebration in Dallas. In 1938, Governor of Texas James Allred issued a proclamation stating in part: Whereas, the Negroes in the State of Texas observe June 19 as the official day for the celebration of Emancipation from slavery; and Whereas, June 19, 1865, was the date when General [Gordon] Granger, who had command of the Military District of Texas, issued a proclamation notifying
7560-474: The holiday's pageant culture, Miss Juneteenth , celebrates African-American women who are "determined to stand on their own," while a resourceful mother is "getting past a sexist tendency in her community to keep women in their place." In 1996, the first federal legislation to recognize "Juneteenth Independence Day" was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, H.J. Res. 195, sponsored by Barbara-Rose Collins (D-MI). In 1997, Congress recognized
7668-431: The holiday. President Donald Trump , during his 2020 campaign for reelection, added making the day a national holiday part of his " Platinum Plan for Black America ." Spurred on by Opal Lee , the racial justice movement and the Congressional Black Caucus , on June 15, 2021, the Senate unanimously passed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act , establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday. It passed through
7776-474: The holiday. By 2008, just over half of the states recognized Juneteenth in some way. By 2019, 47 states and the District of Columbia recognized Juneteenth, although as of 2020 only Texas had adopted the holiday as a paid holiday for state employees. In June 2019, Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Wolf recognized Juneteenth as a holiday in the state. In the yearlong aftermath of the murder of George Floyd that occurred on May 25, 2020, nine states designated Juneteenth
7884-458: The home. The Emancipation Proclamation is also read and speeches are made. Representative Al Edwards died of natural causes April 29, 2020, at the age of 83, but the annual prayer breakfast and commemorative celebration continued at Ashton Villa, with the late legislator's son Jason Edwards speaking in his father's place. In the late 1970s, when the Texas Legislature declared Juneteenth
7992-416: The inaugural Al Edwards prayer breakfast and commemorative celebration on the grounds of the 1859 home, Ashton Villa. As one of the few existing buildings from the Civil War era and popular in local myth and legend as the location of Major General Granger's order, Edwards's annual celebration includes a local historian dressed as the Union general reading General Order No. 3 from the second-story balcony of
8100-508: The last state to recognize Juneteenth as an annual state holiday or observance. Its law provided for following the federal law even before it was official. On May 2, 2022, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a bill changing the state's ceremonial observance to a state holiday and it is now the 11th state holiday in Colorado. As of 2024, 27 states and the District of Columbia have made Juneteenth an annualized paid holiday for state employees, with
8208-469: The latter of which featured musical numbers about the holiday by Aloe Blacc , The Roots , and Fonzworth Bentley . In 2018, Apple added Juneteenth to its calendars in iOS under official U.S. holidays. Some private companies have adopted Juneteenth as a paid day off for employees, while others have officially marked the day in other ways, such as a moment of silence . In 2020, several American corporations and educational institutions, including Twitter ,
8316-488: The law that made June 19th a federal holiday. Officially designated as " Juneteenth National Independence Day ", Juneteenth commemorates the belated June 19, 1865, announcement that enslaved people in the Confederate states had been freed by President Abraham Lincoln as of January 1, 1863. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, which declared "that all persons held as slaves" within
8424-474: The location of Major General Granger's Union Headquarters believed to be where he issued his general orders. Although this event commemorates the end of slavery, emancipation for the remaining enslaved in two Union border states , Delaware and Kentucky, would not come until December 6, 1865, when the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified; furthermore, thousands of black slaves were not freed until after
8532-470: The most important novel since World War II. In 1967, Ellison experienced a major house fire at his summer home in Plainfield, Massachusetts , in which he claimed more than 300 pages of his second novel manuscript were lost. A perfectionist regarding the art of the novel, Ellison had said in accepting his National Book Award for Invisible Man that he felt he had made "an attempt at a major novel" and, despite
8640-400: The party's betrayal. In 1938, Ellison met Rose Araminta Poindexter, a woman two years his senior. Rose Araminta Poindexter was an actress, starring in films such as The Upright Sinner (1931). Poindexter and Ellison were married in late 1938. Rose was a stage actress, and continued her career after their marriage. In biographer Arnold Rampersad 's assessment of Ellison's taste in women, he
8748-438: The political process. White-dominated state legislatures passed Jim Crow laws imposing second-class status. Gladys L. Knight writes the decline in celebration was in part because "upwardly mobile blacks ... were ashamed of their slave past and aspired to assimilate into mainstream culture. Younger generations of blacks, becoming further removed from slavery were occupied with school ... and other pursuits." Others who migrated to
8856-472: The protagonist, Ellison explores the contrasts between the Northern and Southern varieties of racism and their alienating effect. The narrator is "invisible" in a figurative sense, in that "people refuse to see" him, and also experiences a kind of dissociation. The novel also contains taboo issues such as incest and the controversial subject of communism . In 1962, the futurist Herman Kahn recruited Ellison as
8964-462: The publication of Flying Home and Other Stories in 1996. In 1999, his second novel, Juneteenth , was published under the editorship of John F. Callahan , a professor at Lewis & Clark College and Ellison's literary executor . It was a 368-page condensation of more than 2,000 pages written by Ellison over a period of 40 years. All the manuscripts of this incomplete novel were published collectively on January 26, 2010, by Modern Library , under
9072-527: The rebellious parts of Southern states of the Confederacy including Texas. Enforcement of the Proclamation generally relied upon the advance of Union troops. Texas, as the most remote state of the former Confederacy, had seen an expansion of slavery because the presence of Union troops was low as the American Civil War ended; thus, the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation had been slow and inconsistent there prior to Granger's order. In all June 19, 1865,
9180-405: The rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free". A National Park Service fact sheet explains that "the word 'Juneteenth' is a Black English contraction, or portmanteau, of the month 'June' and the date 'Nineteenth'. Juneteenth celebrates the date of June 19, 1865, when enslaved people of African descent located in Galveston, Texas, finally learned of their freedom from the slavery system in
9288-591: The remainder maintaining at least a ceremonial observance (New Mexico's personnel board declared it a paid worker holiday, although it is not a statutory holiday in New Mexico). Additional states may observe it as a paid holiday for state workers but rely on a decision, often of the governor, in each year, instead of perpetual by statute, which may or may not occur again the next year. Local governments including counties and municipalities also may close their offices and pay their workers time-off. The table below only includes
9396-420: The snivelling ethos that ruled at Tuskegee." Tuskegee's music department was perhaps the most renowned department at the school, headed by composer William L. Dawson . Ellison also was guided by the department's piano instructor, Hazel Harrison . While he studied music primarily in his classes, he spent his free time in the library with modernist classics. He cited reading T. S. Eliot 's The Waste Land as
9504-605: The start of World War II, Ellison was classed 1A by the local Selective Service System , and thus eligible for the draft. However, he was not drafted. Toward the end of the war, he enlisted in the United States Merchant Marine . In 1946, he married Fanny McConnell, an accomplished person in her own right: a scholarship graduate of the University of Iowa who was a founder of the Negro People's Theater in Chicago and
9612-452: The state at the end of the Civil War. Although most lived in rural areas, more than 1,000 resided in Galveston or Houston by 1860, with several hundred in other large towns. By 1865, there were an estimated 250,000 enslaved people in Texas. Despite the surrender of Confederate General-in-Chief Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, the western Confederate Army of
9720-558: The state's with perpetual, annual, paid holiday laws identified by the Congressional Research Service in 2023 or subsequent sources: Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States. For decades, activists and congress members (led by many African Americans) proposed legislation, advocated for, and built support for state and national observances. During his campaign for president in June 2020, Joe Biden publicly celebrated
9828-546: The title Three Days Before the Shooting... On February 18, 2014, the USPS issued a 91¢ stamp honoring Ralph Ellison in its Literary Arts series. A park on 150th Street and Riverside Drive in Harlem (near 730 Riverside Drive, Ellison's principal residence from the early 1950s until his death) was dedicated to Ellison on May 1, 2003. In the park stands a 15 by 8-foot bronze slab with
9936-597: The typescript as it progressed. Published in 1952, Invisible Man explores the theme of a person's search for their identity and place in society, as seen from the perspective of the first-person narrator, an unnamed African American man, first in the Deep South and then in the New York City of the 1930s. In contrast to his contemporaries such as Richard Wright and James Baldwin , Ellison created characters that are dispassionate, educated, articulate, and self-aware. Through
10044-605: The victorious Union Army , or abolition laws in some of the remaining U.S. states . When the national abolition amendment was ratified in December, the remaining enslaved in Delaware and in Kentucky were freed. Early celebrations date back to 1866, at first involving church-centered community gatherings in Texas. They spread across the South among newly freed African American slaves and their descendants and became more commercialized in
10152-480: The war by Confederate lawmakers. The order informed all Texans that, in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all enslaved people were free: 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
10260-590: The whole nation. The burst around the star represents a nova and the red curve represents a horizon , standing for a new era for African Americans. The red, white, and blue colors represent the American flag, which shows that African Americans and their enslaved ancestors are Americans, and the national belief in liberty and justice for all citizens. The holiday gained mainstream awareness outside African-American communities through depictions in media, such as episodes of TV series Atlanta (2016) and Black-ish (2017),
10368-735: The word Juneteenth for Jubilee Day early in the 1890s. The word Juneteenth appeared in print in the Brenham Weekly Banner , a white newspaper from Brenham, Texas , as early as 1891. Mentions of Juneteenth celebrations outside of Texas appeared as early as 1909 in Shreveport, Louisiana . In the early 20th century, economic and political forces led to a decline in Juneteenth celebrations. From 1890 to 1908, Texas and all former Confederate states passed new constitutions or amendments that effectively disenfranchised Black people , excluding them from
10476-573: Was 900 days after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, 71 days after Robert E. Lee surrendered to the Union on April 9, 1865, and 24 days after the disbanding of the Confederate military department covering Texas on May 26, 1865. During the American Civil War (1861–1865), emancipation came at different times in different parts of the Southern United States . Large celebrations of emancipation, often called Jubilees (recalling
10584-475: Was awarded the National Medal of Arts . In 1986, his Going to the Territory was published; this is a collection of seventeen essays that included insight into southern novelist William Faulkner and Ellison's friend Richard Wright, as well as the music of Duke Ellington and the contributions of African Americans to America's national identity. In 1992, Ellison was awarded a special achievement award from
10692-439: Was common for formerly enslaved people and their descendants to make a pilgrimage to Galveston. As early festivals received news coverage, Janice Hume and Noah Arceneaux consider that they "served to assimilate African-American memories within the dominant 'American story ' ". Modern observance is primarily in local celebrations. In many places, Juneteenth has become a multicultural holiday. Traditions include public readings of
10800-470: Was described as drawing over 100,000 attendees. In 1979, the Texas Legislature made the occasion a state holiday. In the late 1980s, there were major celebrations of Juneteenth in California, Wisconsin, Illinois, Georgia, and Washington, D.C. In 1979, Democratic State Representative Al Edwards of Houston successfully sponsored legislation to make Juneteenth a paid Texas state holiday. The same year, he hosted
10908-518: Was finally admitted in 1933 for lack of a trumpet player in its orchestra. Ellison hopped freight trains to get to Alabama, and was soon to find out that the institution was no less class-conscious than white institutions generally were. Ellison's outsider position at Tuskegee "sharpened his satirical lens," critic Hilton Als believes: "Standing apart from the university's air of sanctimonious Negritude enabled him to write about it." In passages of Invisible Man , "he looks back with scorn and despair on
11016-668: Was first celebrated in Austin in 1867 under the auspices of the Freedmen's Bureau , and it had been listed on a "calendar of public events" by 1872. That year, Black leaders in Texas raised $ 1,000 for the purchase of 10 acres (4 ha) of land, today known as Houston's Emancipation Park , to celebrate Juneteenth. The observation was soon drawing thousands of attendees across Texas. In Limestone County , an estimated 30,000 Black people celebrated at Booker T. Washington Park, established in 1898 for Juneteenth celebrations. The Black community began using
11124-473: Was his ticket into the American literary establishment. He eventually was admitted to the American Academy of Arts and Letters , received two President's Medals (from Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan ) and a State Medal from France. He was the first African-American admitted to the Century Association and was awarded an honorary Doctorate from Harvard University . Disillusioned by his experience with
11232-524: Was published in the collection Trading Twelves (2000). Writing essays about both the black experience and his love for jazz music, Ellison continued to receive major awards for his work. In 1969, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom ; the following year, he was made a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France and became a permanent member of the faculty at New York University as
11340-593: Was published, increasing recognition of the holiday. By 2006, at least 200 cities celebrated the day. In 1997, activist Ben Haith created the Juneteenth flag , which was further refined by illustrator Lisa Jeanne Graf. In 2000, the flag was first hoisted at the Roxbury Heritage State Park in Boston by Haith. The star at the center represents Texas and the extension of freedom for all African Americans throughout
11448-487: Was searching for one "physically attractive and smart who would love, honor, and obey him—but not challenge his intellect." At first they lived at 312 West 122nd Street, Rose's apartment, but moved to 453 West 140th Street after her income shrank. In 1941 he briefly had an affair with Sanora Babb , which he confessed to his wife afterward, and in 1943 the marriage was over. The couple officially divorced in 1945. As of April 2023, Poindexter remains alive at 111 years old. At
11556-419: Was the second of three sons; firstborn Alfred died in infancy, and younger brother Herbert Maurice (or Millsap) was born in 1916. Lewis Alfred Ellison, a small-business owner and a construction foreman, died in 1916, after work-related injury and a failed operation. The elder Ellison loved literature, and doted on his children. Ralph later discovered, as an adult, that his father had hoped he would grow up to be
11664-538: Was then openly associated with the Communist Party , and Ellison was publishing and editing for communist publications, although his "affiliation was quieter", according to historian Carol Polsgrove in Divided Minds . Both Wright and Ellison lost their faith in the Communist Party during World War II, when they felt the party had betrayed African Americans and replaced Marxist class politics with social reformism. In
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