—General Order No. 3 as read by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, Galveston, Texas, June 19, 1865
Contrary to recent claims by President Trump, the holiday of Juneteenth was quite well known before this year.
And it is true that Juneteenth has taken on a special significance this year, and not only because President Trump awkwardly scheduled a campaign rally for the day in Tulsa, the site of the worst incident of racial violence in American history.
Most major corporations, including the NFL, Mastercard, Lyft and Uber, have made the day a paid holiday, as have media companies such as New York Times, The Washington Post and Vox Media have also made Juneteenth a company holiday.
Growing up with parents who were civil rights activists in the late 1960s and early 1970s, my family celebrated Juneteenth, along with Emancipation Day celebrations on Jan. 1 and Watch Night parties on New Year’s Eve.
Enthusiasm for Juneteenth seemed to wane after Martin Luther King Day became a federal holiday in 1983.
