About Juneteenth

Juneteenth is the commemoration of the emancipation of the remaining enslaved Black people in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. This was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863.

Source: https://www.juneteenth.com/history.htm

Additional Resources

Race and Prosecution by Angela J. Davis, DA John Chisholm, & David Noble
In Race and Prosecution Angela J. Davis, Professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law, John Chisholm, Milwaukee (WI) District Attorney, and David Noble, Communications Fellow with the IIP, aims to unearth the roots of racial inequality in the United States, discuss how those roots produced racial disparities in the criminal justice system, and provide guidance on how the prosecutor’s office can transform those disparities into positive change in policy and practice.

Racial Justice in America: A Resource for Educating Prosecutors
To help educate prosecutors and the communities they serve about the history and legacy of racial injustice in America, the IIP has compiled a list of readings, films, music, and other works to illuminate some of the many ways in which racism is experienced. We welcome anyone interested to use these resources as starting points for fruitful conversations around race in America and transformation of the criminal legal system.

The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth - National Museum of African American History & Culture
On “Freedom’s Eve,” or the eve of January 1, 1863, the first Watch Night services took place. On that night, enslaved and free African Americans gathered in churches and private homes all across the country awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect. At the stroke of midnight, prayers were answered as all enslaved people in Confederate States were declared legally free. Union soldiers, many of whom were black, marched onto plantations and across cities in the south reading small copies of the Emancipation Proclamation spreading the news of freedom in Confederate States. Only through the Thirteenth Amendment did emancipation end slavery throughout the United States.

Remembering Juneteenth - Equal Justice Initiative
Juneteenth should be a national day of reflection that invites us all to confront the unfulfilled promises and justice denied to Black people in this nation. This reflection can better prepare us to deal with the legacies of racial injustice that we live with today. By strengthening our understanding of racial history, we can create a healthier discourse about race in America that can lead to an era of truth and justice. EJI is persuaded that the hope of racial justice in America will be shaped not by the fear and resistance of those who doubt its importance but by the commitment, dedication, and action of those who believe that a future free of racial injustice is possible.

Reconstruction in America: Racial Violence after the Civil War - Equal Justice Initiative
EJI’s new report, Reconstruction in America, documents nearly 2,000 more confirmed racial terror lynchings of Black people by white mobs in America than previously detailed. The report examines the 12 years following the Civil War when lawlessness and violence perpetrated by white leaders created an American future of racial hierarchy, white supremacy, and Jim Crow laws—an era from which our nation has yet to recover.