The History of Juneteenth and Why We Must Not Remain Silent

In order to show our solidarity with the Black community during Juneteenth, we here at Fullmoon Digital Media would like to share some of the history of Juneteenth to help others get a better understanding of the holiday and it’s importance. We would also like to use this time to acknowledge the hardships and racism still facing the Black community today. First let us take a journey back to 1862, when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

The History of the Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation (or Proclamation 95) was announced on September 22nd, 1862. It went into effect on January 1st 1863, but it had a few critical issues with it. First, it only freed the slaves in the confederacy if the states did not rejoin the Union within 100 days. Second, it did not free slaves in the south that were loyal to the Union (so some 4 million slaves were not freed as well). 

Once President Licoln realized that after the war they had no basis to keep the slaves free, he began working with his cabinet to create the 13th Amendment. By end of January of 1865 it was ratified. 

The History of Juneteenth

Texas was a state that did not rejoin the Union, and because the Union’s influence was so little they did not feel the need to tell their slaves they were free. Technically they were free as of January 1st, 1863. 

On June 19th, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, and read the slaves the Emancipation Proclamation that had already been in place for two and a half years. Finally, they were freed at last. They were the last group of slaves freed. This is why the history of Juneteenth must be understood. 

Slavery persists by a different name to this day

And it’s name is UNICOR. The Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program allows corporations to use prisoners as free labor. Now known as UNICOR, they pay inmates under one dollar per hour for their labor. Exploited workers are, of course, largely Black and Latinx. 

This is a result of racism from everywhere: Karen calls the cops on Black and Latinx people more than she would on a white person. The Black or Latinx person is 5 times more likely to be arrested for a crime. They are unfairly sentenced because they are wrongly viewed as a threat. And then those people become the exploited inmates (slaves) in prisons across America. 

The worst part is that the viability of the program demands it continue for corporate America. This is why it is so essential to understand the history of Juneteenth. 

The history of Juneteenth is really important to understand because as we can all see, racism is not dead in America today. We must stand next to our Black, Latinx, Native, Asian, and Middle Eastern brothers and sisters and demand equality across the board. No one should have to read the history of Juneteenth and not also read that racism is not dead. 

Further reading on the Emancipation Proclamation, the history of Juneteenth, and the prison systems in the US can be found below: 

Emancipation Proclamation

Juneteenth

Slavery and the Prison System