AFA of PA ACTION ALERT
June 19, 2026
Issue
Juneteenth Background
Details
Juneteenth is a holiday that commemorates the freeing of black slaves in Texas two years after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Also known as Emancipation Day or Freedom Day, the first Juneteenth celebration was held in 1872 in Emancipation Park in Houston, Texas. It has also been described as “Black America’s July 4th.”
But there would have been no liberation of the slaves without July 4, 1776.
The left wants us to believe that slavery was somehow unique to America and central to its founding. That’s what the fake 1619 Project is all about. Sadly, slavery was the norm throughout all of human history and continues to some extent even today. What truly makes America unique is that it was founded on the idea of liberty and we fought a civil war to end slavery – the only country to do so. In fact, at least 650,000 Americans, black and white, died fighting during the Civil War. We have already paid reparations through the spilled blood of Americans.
During the Civil War, there were about 250,000 slaves in Texas. Most of these slaves did not know of the Emancipation Proclamation or even that the war had ended in May 1865.
Major General Gordon Granger was given command of the military district of Texas after the Civil War. When he arrived in Galveston on June 19, 1865, he announced the Emancipation Proclamation and that slaves in Texas were free in General Order Number 3 – the first time many had heard this good news.
Texans began observing June 19th (“Juneteenth”) annually with various festivities such as picnics, barbecues, and thanksgiving celebrations. It became a Texas state holiday in 1979 and eventually spread across the nation. Juneteenth is now recognized as a federal holiday.
Although Juneteenth was not the end of slavery in America, it was an important step in ending slavery in Texas. The Thirteenth Amendment, passed in January and ratified in December of 1865, officially ended slavery for the whole nation.
Action Steps:
Pray for a unified America.
Also, pray that our nation’s school students would be taught the truth about America’s role in ending slavery.
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