Juneteenth Holiday

Canadian education taught about US President Abraham Lincoln issuing the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1^st, 1863. We did not learn that the practice of slavery did not cease everywhere on that date. Years later having relocated to the US, I heard about Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., PhD, and his research. It was a surprise to discover that apparently some parts of this developing country either did not get the word about Lincoln’s Proclamation—or disregarded it for some reason or other. It was June nineteen, 1865, when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger informed portions of Texas of what had occurred two and 1a half years previously [General Orders, Number 3; Headquarters District of Texas, Galveston]. Now we likely have the most popular annual celebration of emancipation from slavery in the United States: Juneteenth (short for June nineteenth). Currently a holiday in many states, it has not yet to become a federal holiday. Let’s get on with it!