My African American History - JUNETEENTH Day, June 19th -Still I Rise

Sunday, June 17, 2018

Milwaukee Professionals Association LLC invites you to, STILL I RISE (taken from Dr. Maya Angelo - American Poet, Renown Author, Singer-Actress, Civil Right Activist & Mother.

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The fact that Caucasians used brute force and greed to enslave African American is/was reprehensible.  It is time for the DREADED enslavement history of America to be told, criticized, and demeaned.

That the horrific past of brutality was born out of GREED, DISCRIMINATION, CAUCASIAN -PRIVILEGE, LAWS OF BIAS and leaky-brain thinking of superiority. 

In spite of the huge odds and humongous deficits, African Americans took nothing and made something SUPERIOR to Caucasians in math, science, the arts, medicine, education, history, and on and on in spite of the givens.

They did not seek a revenge to brutalize, kill, maim, or terrorize - and they surely could have.  They simply wanted to be treated as human beings, given their just do, respected and give respect, and enjoy quality of life and economic development in the American way. 

It is important to recognize the efforts of some Caucasians to do the right thing - to fight in the Civil War to FREE the slaves - for Abraham Lincoln, Caucasian and the 16th President of the USA to sign the document of Freedom called the Emancipation Proclamation.

Ending Slavery in America, the USA
Juneteenth is American celebration denoting the day June 19th and the 3 years later after the Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln, 16th President, the freeing of the ENSLAVEMENT of African American.

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.  

Juneteenth
Juneteenth celebration in Austin, Texas, on June 19, 1900
Also called	Freedom Day or Emancipation Day
Observed by	Residents of the United States, especially African Americans Mascogos
Type	Ethnic, historical
Significance	Emancipation of the last remaining enslaved people in the United States
Observances	Exploration and celebration of African-American history and heritage
Date	June 19
Next time	June 19, 2018
Frequency	annual

Juneteenth, also known as Juneteenth Independence Day or Freedom Day, is an American holiday that commemorates the June 19, 1865, announcement of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. state of Texas, and more generally the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans throughout the former Confederacy of the southern United States. Its name is a portmanteau of "June" and "nineteenth", the date of its celebration.^[1][2]Juneteenth is recognized as a state holiday or special day of observance in forty-five states.^[3]

Today it is observed primarily in local celebrations. Traditions include public readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, singing traditional songs such as "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "Lift Every Voice and Sing", and reading of works by noted African-American writers such as Ralph Ellison and Maya Angelou.^[4] Celebrations may include rodeos, street fairs, cookouts, family reunions, park parties, historical reenactments, or Miss Juneteenth contests.^[5] The Mascogos, descendants of Black Seminoles, of Coahuila, Mexico also celebrate the Juneteenth.^[6 Wikipedia

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The American Civil War (also known by other names) was fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865. As a result of the long-standing controversy over slavery, war broke out in April 1861, when Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina, shortly after U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated. The nationalists of the Union proclaimed loyalty to the U.S. Constitution. They faced secessionists of the Confederate States, who advocated for states' rights to expand slavery.

Among the 34 U.S. states in February 1861, seven Southern slave states individually declared their secession from the U.S. to form the Confederate States of America or the South. The Confederacy grew to include eleven slave states. The Confederacy was never diplomatically recognized by the United States government, nor was it recognized by any foreign country (although the United Kingdom and France granted it belligerent status). The states that remained loyal to the U.S. (including the border states where slavery was legal) were known as the Union or the North.

Seven (7) Succeeding States

The Confederacy was originally formed by seven secessionist slave-holding states—South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas—in the Lower South region of the United States, whose economy was heavily dependent upon agriculture, particularly cotton, and a plantation system that relied upon the labor of African-American slaves.^{[2  - Wikipedia}

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Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19^th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with the news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. 

Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863. 

The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.

Later attempts to explain this two and a half year delay in the receipt of this important news have yielded several versions that have been handed down through the years. Often told is the story of a messenger who was murdered on his way to Texas with the news of freedom. 

Another is that the news was deliberately withheld by the enslavers to maintain the labor force on the plantations. And still, another, is that federal troops actually waited for the slave owners to reap the benefits of one last cotton harvest before going to Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. 

All of which or neither of this version could be true. Certainly, for some, President Lincoln's authority over the rebellious states was in question   For whatever the reasons, conditions in Texas remained status quo well beyond what was statutory.
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Join us.
MONDAY, June 18, 2018
Public Policy w/Mary Glass & Company
Riverwest Radio 104.1 FM - riverwestradio.com
Time:  3:30  pm - 4:30pm

Guest:
Dr. William Rogers, Atlanta, GA Talk Show Host, and African American Historian

2018 Ms. Juneteenth Representatives
- Alexandrea English
- Lisa Gooseberry

SHOW 73