Juneteenth and Accountability to People of Color
<p>Most people think of Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation as the end of slavery, but the 13th Amendment was not put into the constitution until 1865. Enslaved people in the South were <a href="http://www.tolerance.org/blog/happy-juneteenth" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">only freed as Union troops took over parts of the South </a>later in the Civil War. In Galveston, Texas on June 19th 1865, two months after General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at the Appomattox, the news was delivered that the very last enslaved people were free.</p>
<p>This important moment is not generally included in traditional history books, and many people in America do not even know the meaning of Juneteenth at all. Part of being an anti-racist advocate in today’s society includes knowing the history of all of America’s people, and realizing that the Emancipation Proclamation, or even Juneteenth, did not end racism in America. American culture is seeped in systemic oppression and we must recognize where we have been to know where we want to go.</p>
<p><a href="https://anniewindholz.medium.com/juneteenth-and-accountability-to-people-of-color-a50a97aed4fa"><strong>Learn More</strong></a></p>