Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, as a day to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved African Americans after the Civil War. It’s based around June 19th, 1865, the day that word of freedom from slavery finally reached Texas, the last state notified…some two-and-a-half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
Geraldine Thompson represents West Orange County in the State Senate, and is also a noted historian and published author on African American history. She tells 90.7 WMFE’s Nicole Darden Creston about how news of freedom slowly spread through the South in 1865, and what Juneteenth means, then and now.
Senator Geraldine Thompson:
It wasn't until the end of the Civil War that Union soldiers began riding throughout the South informing formerly enslaved people that they were freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. And it depends on when soldiers reached a particular territory - that, in many instances, determines when emancipation was celebrated. For example, in Mississippi, they celebrate the eighth of May. They call it "Eight o' May." And that's when the soldiers reached them. The soldiers came to Florida, and read the Emancipation Proclamation in Tallahassee on May 20th. And the soldiers continued riding, and there was a very isolated area where people were enslaved, and those individuals were in Galveston, Texas. The soldiers did not reach Galveston until June 19th of 1865. And so many of us feel that until all of us are free, none of us are free. So June 19th, which is contracted and is now called Juneteenth is the day that we have chosen to celebrate.
Nicole Darden Creston:
Let's focus in on Florida and Central Florida. Can you take us through what happened when the soldiers reached Florida and if there are any specific figures in Central Florida history that are related to this moment?
Senator Geraldine Thompson:
Well, Harriet Tubman - we all know her as the conductor of the Underground Railroad. But in addition, she was a soldier, a spy, and a nurse for the Union army and was stationed in Florida during the Civil War. When freedom came, she was in Fernandina at a Civil War camp called Fort Clinch.
Nicole Darden Creston:
Talking about Juneteenth today. It became a federal holiday in 2021. And it seems that there is joy to be recognized in this day, and there's tragedy to be recognized in this day. A lot of nuance. How do you think we reconcile, get our arms around, all of that in the ways that we acknowledge Juneteenth?
Senator Geraldine Thompson:
Well, I think we have to teach authentic history. We have to be real and present an unvarnished version of what happened. And I think that that is what Juneteenth is all about. We cannot celebrate our triumphs without recognizing our trials. So it has to be a combination of recognizing the pain and the progress. So many people want to recognize the progress. But you can't do that unless you're willing to really look at where you come from. And I think we do both of those things. So it's a combination of the gaiety, the celebration and recognizing some of the challenges that people face today and addressing those challenges.
