Happy Holidays
Juneteenth of course. Whaddya mean, “what holiday“??
Juneteenth is the commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. The holiday originated in Galveston, TX in 1865. When the Civil War ended, the news spread slowly among plantation owners.
On June 19, 1865, a Union general belatedly announced the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston, which led to the freeing of 250,000 slaves in Texas.
This day (or week, or month) celebrates education and achievement. It’s often celebrated in the form of parades, barbecues, ball games and Blues festivals.
Juneteenth is celebrated more widely in Texas than anywhere else. It was steadily gaining in popularity from 1865 up through the mid-1900s. During the 1960s its popularity declined as civil rights progress was being made. Then in the late 1970s it gained new significance as cultural awareness was increasing.
It’s a time for reflection and self-assessment and for acknowledging — and learning from — a dark chapter in our history.
posted by Tom Harper @ 12:04 AM
18 Comments:
I live in Texas rust me not that many celebrate it.
Hey! Well that explains the Jazz and Blues fest that I go to every June! Thanks for the education!
James: Interesting to know.
Cassandra: Glad there's a Jazz and Blues fest in your area. They're always a good thing, whatever the occasion.
I don't know how they formed the name. The date is June 19th. They might have used the name to show that it's not just one day, to stretch out the celebration to several days or longer. Just guessing.
To me the whole holiday is based on the ignorance that slavery bred at that time. If I were black I would not want to be reminded that though the slaves were free for 2 years people just didnt tell the ones in Texas and so they stayed slaves.
And the name comes from an ebonics type shortening of the words june and nineteenth.
The correct pronounciation by blacks that I know is JuneTeenf.
Juneteenth got the name because it sotook many days for word to spread around Texas people found out on some "teen" day (ie 13-19) hence the name, though it is celebrated on the 19th, the name is a reminder that it took many days for the news to spread. There is no Ebonics about this I suggest you learn about this and knock off the ignorant shit. Use this opportunity to find out why it is so important rather then making uneducated statements.
Another thing - any celebration of rememberence of freedom is a good thing every nation in the world celebrates some version of it and in the US we have the 4th of July.
Juneteenth remains the only celebration of Freedom for all African - Amercians and is celebrated in all the states and many countries.
Sounds you want to blame the Victum by talking about those Ignorant slaves you sound just like the Pro-Slavery people who wanted to keep the status quo. Sounds like you've been watching too much Shirley Temple/Gone with the wind movies.
The Ignorant people were those who did the inslaving
A day of rememberence also reminds us why we need to never do it again.
And I never heard anybody call it Juneteenf
Erik
Black and Proud
Erik: Thanks for the info. That's more information than I was able to find in the 2 links I used. We definitely need to remember this chapter in our history so that we don't repeat it.
Blame the victim for being slaves? Im not sure hwo you got that.
No I simply said If I were black, which I am not, I wouldnt want to be reminded of the fraud perpetrated on me. I would want to celebrate the day the slaves were announced freed or something like that. Its simply an observation.
In addition, throwing around the word ignorant is well ignorant. Especially when talking about "inslaving" I said SLAVERY bred ignorance, they wanted to keep them uneducated to keep them ensalved. This certainly wasnt the slaves fault. It was a product of the system and I clearly stated that.
Also your story of the origin like much of history is blatantly false. The proclamation was made on June 19th how did slaves become freed on the 12th? They didn’t in fact it took as long as a few more months for the word to spread throughout Texas.
You can find it all here.
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/JJ/lkj1.html
And I never heard anybody call it Juneteenf
Well I have.
James
White but to put the word Proud beside it would make me a Nazi.
Well James,
I am waiting for your responce
Erik
I guess your 2 responses crossed in the "mail."
I would also like to point out that the second James comment is not me but another James.
First of all you called it Ebonics which did not exist as a term. If you want to call or infer that such a twisting of the term is ignorant than criticize whole areas of the country whose accents twist common English daily.
Secondly I got my information from Black History websites as I had to do a study on this a few years ago. Once again, as it took the information so long to spread around it got the popular name of Juneteenth. If you think the name sounds ingorant - I can't help you there.
Third the Celebration restarted in Texas, I have friends and family in the forth worth area who have sent me photos of the celbration and it is huge. In many cases it is a homecomeing for blacks who were from texas and many use the occasions for family renunions. We not only had large celebrations in many California black communities and I have read where celebrations are all over the world. Seems many people just like the idea.
After Slavery came Legal Segregation and lack of Voting Rights that lasted until the 1960's (though it is still a problem today). The Celebration of Freedom became even more important as for us to remember that more work has to be done, but to remind those others (especially the republican southernors now in power who have this revionist history of the Civil War and Reconstruction that they used to justify Segregation and their 2nd class society, long after Strom Thurmonds death - People like Trent Lott and your own Phil Gramm carrie(d) the torch)
If you studied black history - yes it was illegal to educate slaves however as slaves were intrusted to run the plantation and the house hold, many of their duties required they had some education to carry them out so the law was ignored in some circumstances. But you can be sure that those who got some education, spread it around.
I dont know how many black people you know (doesn't sound like many) but everyone I know (and I know a lot from all over this country) calls it by its proper name (which you still don't like) What does it say when you hear a couple who may have speech impediments call it Juneteenf and automatically assume that is the proper name?
Try and look past the name and appreciate the celebration for what is is. If you cant you are beyond help.
Erik
Eric,
1. I didnt call it ebonics the second poster did which wasnt me. Same name (james) but if you click it its a different person.
2. I never said the name sounds ignorant. That was the second poster (the other James)
3. I live in the Fort Worth area and the celebration if huge is confined to black only neighborhoods as I have never once seen any Juneteenth celebration.
I dont assume it is the proper name I assume that it is how many blacks talk as they seemingly in my area do not embrace proper english. Though it is Texas at times it seems like another language all together.
Use your reasoning skills here. If it took months for the news to spread why name it after 7 days in June. It doesnt even make sense in a superficial way.
Personally I could care less it came and went here without my even remembering it until I saw it here. Thats right living and working in Fort Worth it was so important that I never heard it mentioned.
BTW just to reiterate here.
Juneteenth satarted in Texas and IS a shortening of the word June and Nineteenth.
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/juneteenth1.html
Also you state Ebonics doesnt exist but it does it is in the dictionary and there was an attempt to teach it in schools.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dict.asp?Word=Ebonics
If I were black I think I would rather celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation.
What has become obvious is that there is a whole world you know nothing about but are sure ready to judge, both of you.
Tom's post shows a lot of people knew nothing about it and therefore it seems to be not important in your eyes because "you never heard of it"
The only thing you have been quoted to know is how they twist the language which is pretty sorry if you are going to consider yourself knowledgeble about the world, or even your home area.
I have heard "Proper English" twisted in many parts of the country but only blacks get blamed and labeled for it.
I simply stated that Juneteenth is not an Ebonics term. Ebonics did not exist in the 1850's. The attempt to teach it in schools started in Oakland California, it was very local and short lived. But you choose to use the term anyway.
And they choose to call it Juneteenth, since nothing we do makes since to either of you I will not debate it.
As for the emancipation proclamation it was created long before it was released and it had no enforcement behind it. Therefore there is one date to celebrate it. Juneteenth came enforced, it had teeth and that is one reason why it is celebrated.
I you black, it would be frightening
Erik <----check the spelling
My local paper had lots of pictures and highlights of our Juneteenth celebration but I'm Betting a lot of people still never heard of it.
Erik
I never said it wasnt important. I have heard of it and I wouldnt want to celebrate it if it were my holiday.
Thats it the total extent of my statement. But since you gone on I will adress your points.
Yes you make no "sinse" (sic)
I actually said all Texans twist the language in my post.
Since Ebonics is based on the misspeaking by blacks of English (as opposed to the way the rest of us misspeak it) then I would venture to say you are wrong about it existing in the 1850s (though I hardly see why thats relevant since Juneteenth happened in 1860s).
I never used the term Ebonics the other James did. Your last paragraph is just nonsense. The Proclomation had no enforcement so you dont know when to celebrate it? Uh how about the day it signed?
But Juneteenth which happened sometime in mid June but took at least two months to spread throughout Texas, slaves in other parts had been free as long as 2 and 1/2 years already. That has teeth!?!?! Uh okay.
I dont know what "if you black it would be scary means".
And lastly I have heard of it and iN fact have shown I know more about it than you do. Probably because it is a Texas holiday and I live there.
You can now mangle err I mean have the last word.
Anyone who has read your post can see that you haven't nor can you say anything good about black people. You went from not never hearing of it to knowing more then anybody because you are from Texas.
As you said yourself you don't care.
That is so obvious
Erik
The post is not about black people as a race. It just my interpretation of a holiday I would not want to celebrate and for reasons I think I have made clear. I was not going to respond but your implication is that something I said was racist and it is not. I think either you are a little too sensitive about race which I am sure has some root in your experience. Or you are playing the race card because you cannot win a debate. I hope it is the former.
I defy you to point out where I said I never heard of it. I provided references for everything I said. I do not know what you want from me.
I said I would not want to celebrate it. I have not referred to blacks as a group at all other than to say that slavery as an institution was bad as it bred ignorance and that is one reason blacks were able to be tricked into remaining slaves while for 2 and one half years other were free.
You’re right I don’t care about this holiday because its lame to me the same way I don’t care about oh I don’t know about a half dozen others. Do I hate the Irish because I do not celebrate St Patty’s? It is a ridiculous assertion without merit and of seedy intent. I think it does a disservice to throw it around so easy or at least leave that implication hanging over the conversation.
I hate no man for any circumstances he is born into; I never understood the pride or lack thereof in the amount of ones pigment.
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