RES Success Celebrates Juneteenth
This year, RES will observe Juneteenth National Independence Day on Monday, June 20.
This holiday commemorates June 19, 1865, the day that Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform enslaved African Americans of their freedom and that the Civil War had ended. Around 250,000 people were held in slavery in Texas at the time. This was two months after the surrender of the Confederate army and two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
The first order of business for the Union troops was to march through the city, publicly reading General Order Number 3, which begins, “The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves….”
Six months later on December 6, slavery in America was formally abolished with the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
Although emancipation didn’t happen overnight for everyone, celebrations ensued among newly freed Black people — and as they relocated to other areas of the country, the celebration of this date spread with them. It is now the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.
The holiday is considered the longest-running African American holiday and has been called “America's Second Independence Day.” Last year the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act established June 19 as a federal holiday.
At RES Success we are celebrating this day by closing our programs for the day and giving our staff a paid holiday.
It is important to us to recognize the significance of the historical occasion this day celebrates: the ending of slavery in the United States. It is also important that we celebrate the values that prevailed on this occasion and for which we continue to strive in America: the equality of all people and the freedom for each person to build their own life.
We are so grateful for our talented and committed team members at RES who work so hard to uphold the equality and freedom of the people we serve. We are grateful for the rich diversity of backgrounds and perspectives that they bring to their service every day. And we are proud to provide this opportunity for our staff to celebrate Juneteenth National Independence Day in the way that is most meaningful to them.
Links
You can find out about Juneteenth celebrations around the Bay Area by visiting the San Francisco Chronicle or the Mercury News.
We encourage you to learn more about this important day by visiting Juneteeth.com or the Galveston Historical Foundation.
You can also view and learn more about the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution by visiting the National Archives or at History.com.
