Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.  It dates to June 19^th, 1865, when Union soldiers led by Major General Gordon Granger landed at Galveston, Texas.  They brought news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free!  The day’s anniversary has been celebrated in various parts of the country as the symbolic end of American slavery since 1866.  On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth “National Independence Day” Act into law.

This is a new one for most of us.  We’ve grown up celebrating Independence Day on July 4^th, singing about the “land of the free and the home of the brave.”  And, of course, we will continue to do so.  Yet, in our land of the free, it was only 158 years ago that all were not “free.”   That’s not so long ago, folks.  My grandmother was born in the 1860’s, making me only two generations removed from the ugly reality of slavery.  Looking at it that way did make me wince.  This is not ancient history.

It was a time of rejoicing when the slaves were freed.   Yet, our African American brothers and sisters still face inequities and bigotry.  We have a long way to go before all of us will be fully integrated and accepted in this land of the free.  On this day we’re reminded of that first announcement – that the enslaved were free.  These men, women and children were always embraced with the unconditional love of our God.  Let’s open our arms and our hearts until we in harmony welcome all, regardless of race, creed, or color, with the love God has graciously given to us.

The following is sometimes considered the song of Juneteenth.

Lift every voice and sing
‘Til Earth and Heaven ring
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the listening skies
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.*

Judy

*Lift Every Voice and Sing, Written by James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson.