Juneteenth marks day last enslaved people freed

PHILADELPHIA - Juneteenth commemorates when the last enslaved African Americans learned they were free 155 years ago. Now, with support growing for the racial justice movement, 2020 may be remembered as the year the holiday reached a new level of recognition.

While the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the South in 1863, it wasn’t enforced in many places until after the end of the Civil War two years later. Confederate soldiers surrendered in April 1865, but word didn’t reach the last enslaved black people until June 19, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to Galveston, Texas.

Celebrations have typically included parades, barbecues, concerts and readings of the Emancipation Proclamation. But after massive demonstrations over George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police, there has been a seismic shift to further elevate black voices. That desire is being felt as states and cities move to make Juneteenth an official paid holiday.

READ MORE: Juneteenth: A day of joy and pain - and now national action | Mayor Kenney designates Juneteenth as official city holiday

"This has grown," said Ron Brown. He’s excited to educate and introduce people to Juneteenth also known as Freedom Day or Independence Day for enslaved Africans. People who may not know why or how it's celebrated.

"When I first started in 1995, 99.9 percent of the people did not know what Juneteenth was in Pennsylvania really the east coast."  He’s the Pennsylvania State Director of Juneteenth and the Northeast Regional Director for the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation. Brown started decades ago bringing Juneteenth celebrations to his then Germantown community before expanding to counties throughout the state.

"I wanted it to become a legal holiday and if I put it in each of those counties, those politicians would see and those people would see and begin to appreciate and begin to accept it which is exactly what happened," said Brown.

Joe Geeter, president of the Philadelphia Montford Point Marine Association representing the first African American Marines, educated those in the military about Juneteenth.

"June 19th is significant because that's the first day that many slaves and even free men found out that the slaves were free by the emancipation proclamation," he said. “I think all people should understand the plight of slavery and how it affected African Americans." Geeter also says this isn't just Black history. It's American history.

"I think the importance of it now is it's a holiday that we can really own. When I say we, I'm not just talking about African Americans. I'm talking about the United States of America," said he said.

This week, Mayor Jim Kenney made Juneteenth a city holiday. Last year, Governor Tom Wolf declared it an official state holiday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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