Juneteenth now federal holiday; Monessen to celebrate Saturday

By KRISTIE LINDEN

klinden@yourmvi.com

This Saturday, when Monessen holds its first ceremony to commemorate Juneteenth, it will also be the first time the occasion is recognized as a federal holiday.

President Joe Biden made the designation official Thursday when he signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act.    

The holiday is a commemoration of the events of June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas. It came about two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in Southern states.

Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger led soldiers to Galveston to deliver the message that the war was over and the Union had won. Most importantly, the Union Army now had the manpower to enforce the end of slavery.

The announcement came two months after the end of the Civil War, but it had much been longer since Lincoln had freed the slaves. In Texas, many enslaved Black people were still not free when Granger arrived.

When Granger got to Galveston, he read his orders, which stated slavery would no longer be tolerated, slaves were all now to be freed and would be treated as hired workers if they chose to remain on plantations. 

Granger also told the residents of Galveston that in addition to being free, slaves were now given an absolute equality of rights. Most former slaves did not choose to keep working at the plantations and left the area.

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