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Juneteenth++ [1]

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Date: 2023-06-19  

On this day, we celebrate Juneteenth, the day that General Gordon Granger informed the slaves of Galveston, Texas that, by the terms of the Emancipation Proclamation, they were free people, and had been, since Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, on January 1, 1863.

Of course, Lincoln freed the slaves of a territory in open rebellion, and it took the signing of the surrender at Appomattox, on March 29, 1865, for the Emancipation Proclamation to go into effect.

So, while, arguably, the slaves of Dixie had been free for 2½ years before Granger's appearance, it had really been closer to 2½ months. But, in fact, the amount of time doesnt matter, as every day in slavery is an affront to human dignity.

And, had Granger not shown up that day, or week, or month, or year, it is fairly clear that no one would have informed the slaves that Dixie's loss liberated them.

If they knew that Dixie lost at all.

It is inaccurately said that Juneteenth is the day that the last slave was freed in America.

This is just flat wrong.

The slave-holding states of the Union were not included in the Emancipation Proclamation, and their slaves were freed on ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, on December 6th of 1865. The slave states of the Union (Maryland, Delaware, Missouri, and Kentucky), were legally required to release their slaves by the Thirteenth Amendment.

Unfortunately, the Thirteenth Amendment had an exception to the We-Do-Not-Hold-Slaves status of the United States. Slavery was explicitly ok'd as a punishment for a crime. So, the Dixie states went about disproportionately imprisoning Black folks to this very date. And, at the same time, removing their right to vote for the remainder of their lives.

The remedy to the slavery clause in the Thirteenth Amendment is the Tenth Amendment, whereby rights can be expanded on a state-by-state basis, and voters can -- directly or indirectly -- illegalize prison slavery (at the ballot box or by their legislatures), and, indeed, about 20 states have done so.

So, while we celebrate the freedom of slaves throughout Dixie today, let us remember that our work is not done.

And let us -- all of us -- strive to make this a more perfect Union. With liberty, and justice, for all.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/19/2176384/-Juneteenth

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