Juneteenth

Hello Everyone,

Just a few days back I got to know about the holiday Juneteenth. I was given the wonderful opportunity to have a meeting with Senator Merkley (I will be posting a blog entry about that as well). Oregon Deputy Secretary of State Cheryl Meyers was also there and in that meeting she was so kind to tell me about Juneteenth.

On September 22nd, 1862 Abraham Lincoln signed the Proclamation or bill that got rid of slavery. Many people did not know that they were free until 2 ½ years later when Gordon Granger arrived in Texas to announce the end of slavery. The day this happened was June 19th 1865 and it was made a holiday. Recently President Biden made June 19th a Federal holiday. This day is now called Juneteenth.

Some ways people celebrate Juneteenth are going to rodeos, fishing, barbecuing, and going to baseball games. Also there are dances on Juneteenth. There were many events for Juneteenth in and around Portland as well.

Some ways for us to celebrate now or in the future are ordering from a black owned restaurant or celebrating with a family barbecue. We can also celebrate by spreading the word .

Some cool facts about Juneteenth are:

  • Juneteenth is the oldest known holiday that celebrates the end of slavery in our great country U.S.A
  • Some cities and groups have Miss Juneteenth contests
  • There is a Juneteenth flag of freedom, it is half red and half blue with a star in the middle
    Juneteenth Flag

What do you think about Juneteenth? Let us know if you did anything special on Juneteenth. Email us at or.kidgovernor@gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you. See you next time.

Taneesh

 

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