Today is Juneteenth (a portmanteau of June and nineteenth), also known as Freedom Day. What's the history behind it? Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, which would liberate slaves from the Confederate South. But it wasn't until June 19th, 1865 that the last of the slaves being held in seceded Texas were finally granted their freedom.
Union Major General Gordon Granger made the historic June 19th announcement in Galveston, Texas, as he arrived with nearly 2,000 troops to gain control of the state for the US government. “Juneteenth" has been celebrated ever since. Today people are taking to Twitter to mark the date, with some calling for June 19 to become an official national holiday.
The state of Texas officially recognized June 19 as a public holiday in 1980. Now, with organizations like Black Lives Matter bringing civil rights back into the fore by pressuring media to broadcast the continued injustices faced by Black Americans, Juneteenth is seeing another huge resurgence. Change.org is petitioning for Congress to make Juneteenth a national holiday and more than half a million Americans are on board as of this publication. You can sign the petition here.
With cities across the country recognizing Juneteenth with parades and public celebrations, today is a great occasion to work toward ensuring freedom and equality for all across the country.
What do you do to celebrate Juneteenth? Tell us @BritandCo!
(Photos via David Paul Morris/Getty)
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Fall is right around the corner, and we're getting amped up for our next session of Selfmade, Brit + Co's 10-week interactive startup school. Designed to help you create a new business or grow your existing one, this course is personally led by Brit + Co founder Brit Morin and co-founder Anjelika Temple, and supported by more than a dozen of the top female entrepreneurs, creatives, and investors in the country. Students receive personalized coaching on everything from how to get out of your comfort zone to how to scale your business, and everything in between. And now, thanks to Office Depot, even more of you can join the course!
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To nominate yourself or someone you know for a scholarship, head to our nomination form right here. The deadline for scholarship nominations is September 27th — it's time to take the leap!
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