UPDATED: 3:03 a.m. ET, June 19, 2020 —
Black Independence Day, otherwise known as Juneteenth, has arrived.
Nearly two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, to announce that the Civil War had ended and that slaves were free.
African-American state legislator Al Edwards’ bill marked Juneteenth as the first emancipation celebration to receive official state recognition.
On June 19, 1963, seven days after Medger Evers was shot outside of his home in Mississippi, he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
SEE ALSO:
Juneteenth: Celebrating The Early Moments Of Freedom Today
Should Black Americans Celebrate Independence Edwards
,
Black Independence Day
,
emancipation proclamation
,
Galveston TX
,
General Gordon Grander
,
Pres. Abraham Lincoln
,
Texas
