Juneteenth, Day Slaves Were Emancipated, To Become NY Holiday

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — On Friday, June 19, as the nation celebrates Juneteenth — the day that the enslaved were emancipated in Galveston, TX, two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation — Gov. Andrew Cuomo has declared that state employees can take the day as holiday. He also signed an executive order Tuesday stating that beginning in 2021, Juneteenth will be an official state holiday.

Juneteenth, long commemorated as the day slavery was finally abolished in the United States, will be marked at Agawam Park in Southampton on Friday, beginning at 10 a.m. The event, presented by the Southampton community and celebrating freedom, will feature speakers, food and information — social distancing protocols will be observed.

"Friday is Juneteenth — a day to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States — and it's a day that is especially relevant in this moment in history," Cuomo said. "Although slavery ended over 150 years ago, there has still been rampant, systemic discrimination and injustice in this state and this nation, and we have been working to enact real reforms to address these inequalities. I am going to issue an executive order recognizing Juneteenth as a holiday for state employees."

Cuomo said he wants to make the day a holiday "so New Yorkers can use this day to reflect on all the changes we still need to make to create a more fair, just and equal society."

According to Juneteenth.com, Juneteenth is the "oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States."

In 1865, it was on June 19 that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, TX "with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation — which had become official January 1, 1863," the post on Juneteeth.com said.

The Emancipation Proclamation, the post added, had, before that date, not been recognized by residents of Texas due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce Lincolns mandate.

"However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance," Juneteenth.com said.

New York State Assembly member Alicia Hyndman quoted former slave Pierce Harper, in the WPA Slave Narratives of Texas, who spoke about how it felt to be freed: "When peace come they read the Emancipation law to the slaves people, they spent that night singin' and shoutin'. They wasn't slaves no more."

Juneteenth, she added, "is pivotal in the joy, congregation, and spiritual well being of black people in America. I am pleased that the work I have done to solidify Juneteenth as a holiday in the state of New York is coming to fruition. I look forward to working with my colleagues and the governor to ensure black history and liberation stays at the forefront of progress."

Granger arrived in Galveston with federal troops to read General Order No. 3 announcing the end of the Civil War and that all enslaved were free, as well as to maintain a presence in Texas for the purpose of enforcement of emancipation among slave-owners throughout the state, Cuomo said.

Dr. James Banks, coordinator of Multicultural Affairs and consultant to the Center for Social Justice and Human Understanding of Suffolk County Community College and the eastern campus, where he also teaches, said Juneteenth has long been recognized as the day when those who had been enslaved in Texas were finally told that they were free.

Juneteenth, Banks said, was also an important and historic day for the Karankawa Native American population in Texas.

Marking Juneteenth as a holiday in the United States, Banks said, comes at critical juncture: "In a lot of ways, people in America are starting to recognize and acknowledge the lives, successes, and of course, the holidays celebrated by African Americans."

Lawrence Street, new president of the NAACP's eastern Long Island branch, added: "Every recognition that America gives us as a people is one step closer to our true freedom — one step closer to equality, one step closer to being recognized as a people. It's a big step toward being included in the fabric of our society."

For many years, a Juneteenth celebration has been held in both Riverhead and Riverside, hosted by the East End Voter Coalition and featuring an essay contest.