Commemorating Juneteenth in Central Florida

by | June 12, 2024

Whether you call it Emancipation Day, Freedom Day or the country’s second Independence Day, Juneteenth is one of the most important anniversaries in our nation’s history. Last year, Congress and President Joe Biden deemed Juneteenth a federal holiday. We know in Florida and across the United States that the fight for equality, especially against voter suppression and racial discrimination, has progressed but is far from realized.

June 19, 1865, Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger led a force of soldiers to Galveston, Texas to deliver the message that the war was finally over, the Union had won, and it now had the people’s power to enforce the end of slavery. The announcement came two months after the conclusion of the Civil War and even longer since Abraham Lincoln had first signed the Emancipation Proclamation, but many enslaved Black people in Texas still weren’t free, even after that day.

Today, being a citizen of the United States requires us to recognize our nation’s most unified AND divisive moments and acknowledge how far we still have to go in the fight for true equality for Black people and families. We are in an unprecedented climate right now, but it’s not the time to look away. We refuse to go backward.

Author and activist James Baldwin said in 1963, “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read.” As members of the Florida GOP continue efforts to erase discussions and ban books on racial inequalities and inequities, it is essential to celebrate Juneteenth and recognize that racial disparities, as well as white supremacists and nationalists, still exist in this country. We continue to see violent rhetoric and actions stemming from racism in the U.S., in addition to systems that marginalize and even erase communities of color. This should not threaten our capacity to hope; it should inspire us to act.

Now 157 years since Emancipation Day, or Juneteenth, all people are still not free. Today and every day, we have the opportunity to center Black voices in our communities and elect leaders in November who want to see progress, not impede it.

Thank you for being committed to equality for all. We encourage you to honor Juneteenth this weekend through your actions each day and your choices at the polls. Below are several virtual and in-person events taking place in Central Florida before Juneteenth and ways to celebrate.