On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, signed The Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves in the Confederacy (the southern states).
In the south, the proclamation was used as a carrot with the intention of being both a reward and punishment:
If a seceded state chose to return to the Union before Jan. 1, the proclamation would not make slavery illegal in that state. If the state refused to return before Jan 1, then on that date, enslaved people were declared free.
The Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in America and was never intended to end slavery. Northern states, like Missouri and Delaware where slavery was legal, were not required to end slavery, and Black northerners were not given U.S. citizenship.
Also, emancipation did not happen overnight for everyone. In some cases, enslavers withheld the information until after harvest season, and slavery continued in Texas because Texas had not experienced any large-scale fighting or significant presence of Union troops.
In fact, many enslavers from other states moved to Texas as it was viewed as a safe haven for slavery.
African Americans in Texas did not learn of the proclamation signing until June 19, 1865, when the Civil War had practically ended and federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to take control of the state and ensure that about 250,000 enslaved people became free.
Celebrations broke out among newly freed Black people, and Juneteenth was born. Juneteenth short for June Nineteenth, (June 19) is recognized by many as Freedom Day or Independence Day.
Free slaves, often referred to as “freedmen,” organized the first of what became the annual celebration of Jubilee Day on June 19, 1866, in Texas, with prayer meetings, singing of spirituals, and the wearing of new clothes that represented newfound freedom.
As Black people migrated from Texas to other parts of the United States, Juneteenth tradition proliferated. Commemorations include music, barbecues, prayer service, and historical re-enactments.
Slavery was officially abolished with the adoption and ratification of the 13th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution in December 1865, which states:
“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
The exception to the 13th Amendment, “except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
“Scholars, activists and prisoners have linked that exception clause to the rise of a prison system that incarcerates Black people at more than five times the rate of white people, and profits off of their unpaid or underpaid labor.”
In 1979, Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth an official holiday; several other states followed suit over the years. In June 2021, Congress passed a resolution establishing Juneteenth as a national holiday, and President Joseph R. Biden signed it into law on June 17, 2021.
AB1655 making Juneteenth a state holiday in California was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 29, 2022.
On the Central Coast, Juneteenth celebrations are planned in Lompoc and Santa Barbara.
Collective Cultures Creating Change, Lompoc (C4 Lompoc), and the Santa Maria/Lompoc Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) will hold their annual Juneteenth Celebration commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people and the end of slavery in the U.S., 11-5 p.m. Saturday, June 14 in Old Town Lompoc (100 Block of South H Street).
The free event will feature entertainment of music, poetry, historical re-enactments, food and merchandise vendors, nonprofit groups, games for children and adults, Lompoc Public Library Book Mobile, children Storytime, elected officials, speakers, and Victor Jordan, publisher of the Lompoc Vision, as keynote speaker.