06/18/2021
Juneteenth, also called Jubilee Day and Emancipation Day celebrates the emancipation of African Americans who had previously been enslaved. It is celebrated on the anniversary date of the June 19, 1865, announcement of General Order No. 3, proclaiming freedom for slaves in Texas. President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of 1862 had officially outlawed slavery in rebellious Southern states almost two and a half years earlier. However, the Proclamation was mainly symbolic until Union troops arrived in those areas. June 19, 1865 is recognized as the date the last slaves in Confederate states were released.
Ironically, slaves in Delaware and Kentucky were not freed by the Proclamation because those states did not join the Confederacy. Slavery across the U.S. was abolished by the ratification of the 13th Amendment on December 6, 1865, and the last of the Native tribes released their slaves the following year.
Today, communities across the U.S. gather to celebrate the end of slavery with food festivals, poetic readings, singing, and celebratory speeches. This year, Juneteenth became a federal holiday, providing state and federal workers with an additional day off from work. Courts are closed on Friday in recognition of Juneteenth, but our agents are available all weekend to post bail bonds in Danville, VA and the surrounding area in case you need us.
