Today is #Juneteenth. Many people outside of #Texas haven’t heard of it, even though it is a federal holiday signed by Pres Biden.
Most people will say Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865, the day Union Army General Gordon #Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced General Order No. 3, which freed the last enslaved African Americans.
Technically true, but Granger didn’t free the slaves, they were already free, this was two years *after* the #Emancipation Proclamation. Granger showed up to tell white folks they had to follow the law. Black folks already knew the South had lost, they’d seen the newspapers.
It’s been 161 years since that day. We haven’t made nearly enough progress in equality, have we?
https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/what-juneteenth (NMAAHC)
https://www.journal-isms.com/media-version-of-juneteenths-origin-is-a-myth/ (lots of links in this listicle)
https://www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/real-history-of-juneteenth-messier/(may have paywall for non subscribers)