145th Anniversary of Juneteenth: Don't Forget the Horror of Slavery

Diversityinc.com
By Chad E. Quinn - Jun 18, 2010

As we celebrate the 145th anniversary of Juneteenth, also referred to as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, it's important to reflect upon this historical day in 1865 when Union Major General Gordon Granger and his 2,000 troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to enforce President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.
Although the Proclamation had abolished slavery in the United States more than two years before this event, there had been minimal impact on most slaves' day-to-day lives, particularly in Texas, which was almost entirely under Confederate control. Many slaves, in fact, were completely unaware of the law. Granger's seizure of the state from Confederate troops brought about the freeing of 250,000 slaves in Texas.

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