On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger, who had arrive with Union troops on Galveston Island the day before, read General Order #3, which began as follows:
The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer.
This was the first news in Texas of the Emancipation Proclamation, in which Abraham Lincoln had declared that all slaves in territory still in rebellion against the United States as of January 1, 1863, were liberated.
Starting with Texas the following year, states and localities began to commemorate the day as marking the end of slavery. It is worth noting that the Emancipation had at the moment it went into effect freed no slaves - it did not apply to border states that had stayed in the Union or to territory already reconquered by the Union Army. Its purpose was less the freeing of the slaves than it was setting a marker that prevented Britain from entering the Civil War on behalf of the South - remember that Britain had already moved against slavery, to which much credit should be given to William Wilberforce. He had led the effort for passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807 which banned the Atlantic Slave Trade and although he resigned from Parliament in 1826 because of ill health can be given much credit for passage of the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, which banned slavery in the British Empire. The Emancipation made the Civil War about slavery in way that made British support of the Confederacy untenable.
Still, it does not matter how effective the Emancipation had been to that point. Granger's reading of General Order 3 sparked a popular movement, a celebration, that became an essential part of African-American culture in this country. Although the 13th Amendment banning involuntary servitude except as punishment for a crime had passed the Congress, the requisite number of states ratifying did not occur until December of 1865. Thus it was upon the authority of the Emancipation that Gordon relied, and thus the celebration of freedom from slavery was marked, not just in Texas, from June 19th.
If you would like to know more about Juneteenth, take a look here
There are some sort of celebration of Juneteenth in 41 states and the District of Columbia.
Ralph Ellison's second, posthumously published novel, is titled Juneteenth
The Poor People's Crusade planned by Dr. King and carried out by Rev. Ralph Abernathy, encouraged many of the attendees to return to their own communities and establish Juneteenth celebrations.
One traditional part of such celebrations is the singing of Lift Every Voice and Sing, words by James Weldon Johnson, set to music by his brother John Rosamund Johnson. For example, the Library of Congress Chorale in which my spouse sings, will sing this at its picnic today.
I have chosen three versions to share, the first being massed choirs of historically black colleges and universities recorded at Delaware State, where my brother-in-law teaches, the second with Alice Walker and others, and the last a solo performance by Aretha.
Listen, and remember the sheer joy of Juneteenth, 147 years ago today.
Peace.