by Tom Ossa
The following is a transcript – of the Juneteenth segment, as read on the Rockland News Week in Review, Saturday June 21st.
It’s a day that’s often referred to as American Second Independence Day. And as millions observed, June 19th, yesterday, Juneteenth, it’s vital to understand what this day truly represents and crucially what it does not.
On June 19th, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas to announce enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation, more than two years after President Lincoln had issued it on January 1st, 1863. Now, in one sense, Juneteenth marks the delayed freedom of the last enslaved people in Confederate territories in the South, but it’s also a broader symbol.
The beginning of a national reckoning with what freedom and who counts as free really means. And at that point, Texas was geographically remote. Okay. You can’t fly over there three hours and then just hop off and like, Hey, we’re in Texas. All right. Confederate rule was lingering. It was still there. All right. And you know, remember Confederate Union armies, they were shooting at their brothers, man. I mean like.
It was just whichever side you lined up with. you know, there was obviously some rights and wrongs, but it was the bloodiest battle on American soil. And hopefully it is the only bloodiest battle on American soil. Planters moved west. were bringing enslaved people for work on plantations. It was still happening without Union troops to enforce Lincoln’s order. slavery kept on going and it highlights how freedom declared on paper two years beforehand. It didn’t guarantee anything in terms of freedom in the real world.
The first Juneteenth celebrations began in Texas in 1866, church gatherings, music, dancing, and shared community meals. A lot of communities on a small scale, they pooled resources to purchase land, like Houston’s Emancipation Park, and they hosted large picnics and rodeos. It was a collective act of remembrance and agency. During Jim Crow and the Great Migration, Juneteenth’s visibility declined.
African Americans migrating north often left the holiday behind because it was commemorated first in the South. But by the mid 20th century, the celebration revived. By the 1970s and the 80s, it gained momentum across cities like Milwaukee, Atlanta, Houston, and Oakland. And the traditions got a lot richer. Readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, there’s some music to it. And I’m going to see if I can bring this up on the on Spotify right now. And if I get screwed by the copyright engines, I mean, I don’t give a damn, but here’s a Swing Low by Johnny Cash. Bring this up a little bit. One moment, please.
I see coming for to carry me home.
That Swing Low Sweet Chariot by Johnny Cash. There were other songs too, Lift Every Voice and… I’m sorry.
Okay, lift every voice and sing.
Family reunions, soul food, voter drives, historical reenactments, and educational exhibits. The signature color red seen in red velvet cake and hibiscus punch, hibiscus, shout out to my friend Kat up in Highland Falls, you know what that means. Hibiscus punch symbolizes resilience and enduring spirit.
Texas became a state holiday in 1980 with other states following. On June 17th, 2021, Congress passed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act signed by President Biden, making it the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983. Now federally recognized financial markets, schools, and federal agencies close,
Yet nationwide awareness and corporate recognition were growing even before the law, especially following national racial justice protests in 2020. And this is one of the reasons why I believe very much in the markets. And look, we don’t always have to go with the flow and show with the public sentiment. Sometimes it could be right. Sometimes it could be wrong. That’s cool. But the column of progress over the course of time, it kind of hangs out in the center.
which is a really great place to hang out by the way. So corporations, communities, schools, even before it was mandated, Juneteenth was recognized and very much in Rockland County. I have to say that, you know, we live in a very unique County, ladies and gentlemen, where we do our best to get along. And there’s obviously pressures externally right now overseas. mean, it’s a, it’s a mess.
Did that get past FCC? It probably would. But yeah, it’s a little bit of a show, but you know, we’re still getting along over here. And I think that that means something. But now it is a federally recognized holiday. I also want to note what Juneteenth is not. It’s not merely a reflection on the past, but an ongoing call to action. It’s not a celebration detached from contemporary inequities that we have in our society.
However, I also do want to state that it’s commemorating a specific time in our history with people that suffered absolute atrocities. And I don’t like to bring race, creed, color, gender, orientation, any of that jazz. I just don’t. It’s just the way I roll. Okay. But that was a horrible time in our history.
And I’m very glad that we are still working in the column of progress to improve things over the course of time. And for those of you that out there that feel that the world gets down on you, just hang on, hang on a little longer. Cause I know one thing.
Hope always hangs out on the horizon.
So yesterday in Rockland County, local leaders aren’t just marking history. They’re working for change. And legislator Tony Earl commented that the fight for freedom and equality continues. Legislator Dana Stilley noted that through education and a sharing of accurate history, we can learn from our past. Their Juneteenth honorees, pastors and community activists represent that ongoing commitment.
So what does Juneteenth mean for us today? Those of us that are hearing this podcast, and I have to apologize that I let my emotions get the better of me. I hope that’s okay. But it’s a story of delayed justice, but the possibility of hope over the horizon, evolving into sustained progress. And it reminds us that what began in the South in 1865, echoes sometimes two years later, sometimes several decades later, sometimes maybe a century or two later. But the progress goes on. And on June 19th, Juneteenth, we honor resilience, we hold space for history, and we recommit to forging a better future.
And we’re going end that right now today. I think that’s a good place to end. We’re going to finish up with some Johnny Cash. And I want to thank you that took the time to listen to the Rockland News podcast. And just remember, you can catch all the news that matters to you most over at RocklandsNews.com. Our team posts 20 to 30 stories a week on the news that matters to you most.
From Tom Ossa and the team over at Rockland News and all of our sponsors and those of you that are listening in today. Thank you and we look forward to talking with you this coming week. Take care for now.