Historic Event
Juneteenth: Freedom on the Rise
What Is Juneteenth?
A Symbol of Freedom and Moment for Reflection and Celebration
Ben Haith holding the Juneteenth flag he designed, 2022
On June 19, 1865, US troops arrived in Galveston Bay to enforce freedom for enslaved African Americans in Texas. Two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, Juneteenth—a combination of June and nineteenth—quickly became an annual celebration for Black Texans. Today, Juneteenth is a national holiday that celebrates freedom and offers an opportunity to reflect on the nation’s history and possibility.
Activist Ben Haith designed the Juneteenth flag in 1997 to honor this moment of freedom. Haith uses red, white, and blue to link Juneteenth to the American flag and affirm African American citizenship. He also includes the “lone star” to reference the holiday’s Texas origins. The flag is surrounded by a nova, or new star, representing the spread of freedom.
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 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.
General Order No. 3 issued by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, June 19, 1865
Controlling Black Freedom
Although the US Army came to Galveston to enforce freedom for African Americans, the Army also regulated their movement and labor. General Order No. 3 encouraged Black Texans to stay in their “present homes” and work for their former enslavers.
By 1866, states began passing a series of laws known as Black Codes to restrict African Americans’ civil and economic rights. These laws prevented African Americans from voting, punished them for “vagrancy” and “idleness,” and forced them to sign unfair labor contracts. From 1865 to 1890, tensions grew between the federal government, state legislatures, and African Americans as all fought to define Black freedom.
Freedmen’s Bureau Circular No. 8, July 1866
This Freedmen’s Bureau circular announces a new policy requiring landowners to get approval from the bureau before firing newly freed African Americans. Bureau officials enacted the policy after receiving reports that landowners falsely accused African Americans of violating labor contracts to avoid paying them. Congress established the Freedmen's Bureau in 1865 to help African Americans in their transition to freedom.
Labor contract for Henry Dred and family, Clark County, Alabama, 1866
In exchange for “respectfully obeying the orders” of their employer, Henry, Sylvester, and Alfred Dred will receive monthly wages, housing, and rations. Mary Rivers will pay the family “at or before the end of the year” after deducting medical expenses and “all lost time from slouth, sickness or otherwise.” The contract also says that upon approval from the Freedmen’s Bureau, Henry Dred will be removed from the property if the family violates any terms. White landowners used contracts like these to exploit Black labor and withhold payment.
Freedom Colonies and Self-Determined Communities
Students in Antioch, a Freedom Colony in Hays County, Texas, 1920s
Through their self-determination, formerly enslaved African Americans created all-Black towns to support one another and defend against attacks on their freedom. In Texas, these communities became known as Freedom Colonies. Freedom Colonies were self-sustaining communities with their own schools, churches, businesses, and farms. Many of these towns were never officially incorporated and have not been well documented. The Texas Freedom Colonies Project is dedicated to preserving and mapping these historic African American settlements.
Newly freed African Americans also migrated to cities throughout Texas and established their own neighborhoods. Founded in 1865, Freedmen’s Town in Houston, Texas, was a thriving community and is the city's oldest Black neighborhood. Much of it was demolished to expand downtown Houston in the 1950s and 1960s. Today, the Freedmen’s Town Conservancy is working to preserve the historic community.
Freedom’s First Generation
Historian Robert Francis Engs’s phrase “freedom’s first generation” refers to enslaved African Americans who were freed during and after the Civil War. These men, women, and children worked to build new lives despite political and economic turmoil.
Featured Constellation
Tempy Bryant’s Emancipation-Era Dress
Tempy Ruby Bryant was born enslaved in Alabama but was emancipated during the Civil War. Her story reflects the experiences of many in freedom’s first generation who built new lives after slavery.
Celebrating Juneteenth
Formerly enslaved Texans began holding celebrations as early as 1866 to mark the anniversary of their emancipation. Parades, picnics, and gatherings were often referred to as “celebrations of emancipation” or days of “jubilee.”
Over the years, June 19th became known as Juneteenth. The celebrations of freedom spread beyond Texas as people migrated to other states in the late 1800s and during the Great Migration of the 20th century.
Featured Video
Juneteenth in Beaumont, Texas
In 1925, Reverend Solomon Sir Jones recorded this Juneteenth celebration in Beaumont, Texas. Between 1924 and 1928, Jones recorded 29 silent black-and-white films documenting African American communities across the country.
Juneteenth Becomes a Federal Holiday
President Joe Biden with Opal Lee and members of Congress, June 17, 2021
Juneteenth celebration during George Floyd protests, 2020
Opal Lee on the cover of County Line Magazine, 2022
Despite becoming a Texas state holiday in 1980, Juneteenth was not widely celebrated outside of Black communities. Activists like Opal Lee have spent decades raising awareness about the holiday.
Known as the “grandmother of Juneteenth,” Lee is a native of Marshall, Texas, and grew up celebrating Juneteenth every year. But on June 19, 1939, when Lee was still a child, a mob burned her family’s home down during their Juneteenth celebration. As an adult, she committed to planning Juneteenth events for her community and later advocated for a national Juneteenth holiday.
After the 2020 killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other African Americans, the push for a Juneteenth holiday gained national attention. On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law, making Juneteenth a federal holiday.
What we’re trying to get people to understand is that Juneteenth is freedom. And I don’t mean just for Black people, or Texas people. It’s freedom for everybody.
Opal Lee, 2023
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