Get to Know... Juneteenth National Freedom Day

Tomorrow, Jun. 19, marks the American Juneteenth National Freedom Day.

Juneteenth National Freedom Day marks the strong survival instinct of African Americans who were the first emigrants to the New Word stacked in the bottom of slave ships in a month-long journey across the Atlantic Ocean.

According to American historians, Juneteenth or Emancipation Proclamation is the oldest celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the U.S.

It was also the name given to Freedom Day by African Americans in Galveston, Texas, in 1865, when the U.S. Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston town and read General Order Number 3 to its residents.

To commemorate the abolition of slavery throughout the United States and its territories in 1865, Juneteenth Day will be recognized as National Freedom Day in various states including, Illinois, Nevada, and others.

In a step intending to vanish the racism throughout the United States and its territories in 1865, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker joined other states and inked on Wednesday legislation declaring June 19, Juneteenth, an official state holiday.

On this basis, Illinois, the sixth largest population state, will recognize Juneteenth throughout the state, lowering all flags covered by the Illinois Flag Display Act to half-staff on Saturday, June 19.

In 1862, laws abolishing slavery were adopted in the territories of Oklahoma, Nebraska, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Later that year, President Lincoln issued the celebrated occasion, warning the rebellious Confederate states that he would declare their slaves “forever free” if those states did not return to the Union by January 1, 1863.

In 1865, the American Congress assembled passed the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery throughout the United States and its territories.

Although many American Senators expressed their concern at allegations that this practice has not yet been eliminated and decided to continue to give consideration to this item at its next session, spontaneous celebrations erupted throughout the country when African Americans learned of their freedom.

It's worth mentioning that Juneteenth National Freedom Day was first observed 136 years ago and is the oldest and only African American holiday observance in the United States.