Module 3: History
   Part 7: Juneteenth

This part explains the significance of June 19, 1865, often referred to as Juneteenth and considered the independence day of slaves.

&1: Juneteenth

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865. On this day, two months after the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, the enslaved people of Galveston, Texas, were freed as Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Texas to announce the end of the U. S. Civil War and enact the Emancipation Proclamation from two and a half years earlier. You can learn more using the resources below and by searching for additional information or celebrations in your area.

Read:
The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth
https://nmaahc.si.edu/blog-post/historical-legacy-juneteenth

What is Juneteenth?
https://www.history.com/news/what-is-juneteenth

So You Want to Learn About Juneteenth?
https://www.nytimes.com/article/juneteenth-day-celebration.html

Watch:
What is Juneteenth?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3aQjTy328o&feature=emb_logo

Reflect:
  • What did you learn from these resources?
  • How does this learning impact your view of history and of our current society?
  • How does this learning inspire you to take action? What are your next steps?

Slavery as an overt institution may have ended with the conclusion of the U.S. Civil War, but discrimination persisted and took different forms. Jim Crow laws as a tool of racism are overviewed in the next part.