lets make juneteenth a holiday

Date:   7/15/2008 2:50:09 PM ( 16 y ago)

The History

The history of African Americans began with their being bound and abducted from their homes and family. Stripped of their belongings and rudimentary human rights, they were taken onto a ship against their will, never to see their homeland again. The black man was no longer a person, but a slave.

If they survived the trip across the Atlantic, they were inspected, assessed, and auctioned off like a piece of property. Their "owners" treated them as harshly as they deemed fit. Many were whipped, starved, and beaten into submission so their possessors could assure a dutiful servant. The law protected their abuse as a right of ownership.

State Representative Al Edwards, elected in 1979 and presently serving, is a man who holds very high regard for his fellow man. He has won the admiration and respect of many because of his broad outlook on human growth, expansion, and awareness.

By the time Edwards reached his young adulthood, he was sure that God had blessed him with a very special gift - the gift of LEADERSHIP. Long before he considered being an elected official, he found himself facing the firing squad on behalf of many forms of injustice, including the civil rights movement with Dr. King and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. As far as Edwards was concerned, community volunteer work and any other volunteer service he administered was simply a part of his busy lifestyle.

In the summer of 1979, Edwards' first year as a legislator, he was faced with a very special problem that had been presented and denied by others before him...MAKING JUNETEENTH AN OFFICIAL STATE HOLIDAY.

The minute he presented the legislation, House Bill 1016, to the House of Representatives, Edwards realized that he was up against a giant brick wall. Everywhere he turned, he was being told NO to his proposal. Still he would not give up his dream. Edwards wrote the bill using 5 various versions, hoping to capture the approval of the house.

After months of struggle, the hand of God on Representative Al Edwards won out. On June 1, 1980, 115 years after Texas slaves were freed, Juneteenth was declared an official State holiday in Texas!

Abolitionist Frederick Douglas wrote "Juneteenth should be more important to Black people than the 4th of July because when the Declaration of Independence was signed, the words did not apply to Black people."
Juneteenth refers to June 19, 1865, the day that Union General Gordon Grainger rode into Galveston Bay, Texas and read Executive Order #3, proclaiming "all slaves are free." Executive Order #3 came two years, six months and eighteen days after the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 in which President Abraham Lincoln granted freedom to all slaves in the confederate states.

Why did it take so long for freedom to come? Some speculate that the man who was dispatched to bring the news to Texas was killed; others believe that the farmers in Texas knew but simply chose not to obey the President's order. As the news of their freedom spread, jubilant celebrations broke out across Texas. Although General Order #3 advised the slaves to remain with their former owners and work for wages, the majority chose to strike out on their own - a testament to the will and industriousness of the African people and their desire to be totally free.


Just as the Israelites in the Old Testament were admonished to not forget the day that the Lord brought them out of bondage in Egypt, the former slaves did not forget the day they were brought out of bondage in America. The celebration that had gone on June 19, 1865 was repeated on June 19, 1866 and every year since then. This year marks the 140th year that the Juneteenth has been celebrated in Texas. Juneteenth is celebrated in some form in every state in the United States as well as in several foreign countries, including Africa; however, Texas is the only state in which Juneteenth is an official state holiday. In 1980, freshman State Representative from Houston, Al Edwards sponsored legislation making Juneteenth a state holiday.

Al Edwards Frederick Douglas Juneteenth is a holiday steeped in tradition - parades, watermelon, red soda water, picnics, musical celebrations and worship services.

Juneteenth is and has always been acknowledged and respected by Texans of all races. Even during the days of segregation and Jim Crowism, Texas employers found enough charity in their hearts on Juneteenth to give their employees the day off. Retired Southern Pacific railroad employee, Reverend J. C. Glosson - now in his 90's - recalls that white employees complained because "Blacks got two 4th of July celebrations - Juneteenth and 4th of July." Others loaned their horses and carriages to Black employees for the parade, and in San Antonio, San Pedro Park was opened up to African Americans.

And African Americans whose employees would not give them the day off found the courage to defy them and take the day off anyway.



 

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