US Embassy In India Marks Juneteenth, Honours Contributions Made By Black Americans

The American Embassy in India on June 19 commemorated the 157th anniversary of the ending of slavery in the United States. Taking to Twitter, the embassy marked Juneteenth - the annual holiday that honours the contributions made by Black Americans. ‘Juneteenth' is a mishmash between ‘June' and ‘nineteenth', and it is also referred to as Juneteenth Independence Day, Freedom Day or Emancipation Day. 

“Today, we commemorate the 157th anniversary of the ending of slavery in U.S. #Juneteenth or June 19 is an annual holiday to commemorate the contributions made by Black Americans, their resilience despite their history of enslavement, & the continued fight against systemic racism,” read the caption of the post. 

Today, we commemorate the 157th anniversary of the ending of slavery in U.S. #Juneteenth or June 19 is an annual holiday to commemorate the contributions made by Black Americans, their resilience despite their history of enslavement, & the continued fight against systemic racism. pic.twitter.com/ImxLLl0SmT

— U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) June 19, 2022

Juneteenth commemorates the abolishment of slavery in Texas in 1865. The annual holiday took on new meaning last year after US President Joe Biden announced that it would be celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time. Back then, singing the bill into law, Mr Biden had stated that it would be “one of the greatest honours of his presidency”. 

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As per CNN, on this day, many public and private sector employees in the United States enjoy an extra day off from work while brands and cooperations capitalise on the event with celebratory marketing campaigns. Prayer services are also a major part of these celebrations and certain foods have become synonymous with the celebrations, such as strawberry soda-pop, barbeque food and meats such as lamb, pork and beef. 

Coming back to the history of Juneteenth, on June 19, 1865, Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Grander, landed at Galveston Texas with news that the war was over and that the enslaved were now free. 

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Even though slavery had been officially abolished two and a half years earlier, in 1863, following President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, it was widely enforced in Texas, due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the order. In fact, several slave owners also moved to Texas after Mr Lincoln's Proclamation in order to continue their business. 

Because Texas was the last state to have slavery abolished on June 19, Juneteenth became the official day to celebrate the emancipation of the slaves.