UCRP has honored Juneteenth for some years.
Worship celebration on Sunday 19 June.
The United States has a new federal holiday! That’s right! Last year, Thursday, June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed a bill into law a bill that officially designates every June 19 as Juneteenth day—a full federally recognized holiday! Known to some as “the second Independence Day,” Juneteenth becomes the first new federal holiday since the establishment of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983. It celebrates the freedom of enslaved people in the United States at the end of the Civil War. And for more than 150 years African American communities across this great Nation have been observing this holiday, but not as a legally recognized day. But NOW WE CAN!
So what’s the story behind Juneteenth? Well, before we get into today’s service, let’s take a brief look at the history of this holiday and its significance.
At midnight on January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation officially declared that all enslaved people in the Confederacy were free—on the condition that the Union won the war. As thousands of black soldiers enlisted in the Civil War, it is said that they spread news of freedom as they fought their way through the South.
Since Texas, at that time, was one of the last strongholds of slavery in the South, emancipation would be a long-time coming for enslaved people in that state. Even after the last battle of the Civil War was fought in 1865—a full two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed—it is believed that many enslaved people did not even know they were free! As the story goes, some 250,000 enslaved people only learned of their freedom after Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865 and announced that President Abraham Lincoln had issued a proclamation freeing them. The General then declared: “ALL SLAVES ARE FREE!” With that announcement, June 19, which was affectionately turned-phrased by the slaves as “Juneteenth,”—became a day to celebrate the end of slavery in Texas.
In those first few years after the announcement Juneteenth celebrations included church services, public readings of the Emancipation Proclamation and social gatherings like rodeos and dances. But in the 1960’s as the Civil Rights movement gained momentum, Juneteenth celebrations faded. However, in recent years Juneteenth has regained popularity and is often celebrated with food, music, and community. It has helped raise awareness about the ongoing issues facing the African-American community, including the fight for reparations.
WHY IS JUNTEENTH Important?
Juneteenth marks a date of major significance in American history and shows us that freedom and racial equality have always been a hard-fought battle for black Americans; a battle that continues to this day. It represents the ways in which freedom for black people has been delayed. It is a reminder that, as the great civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer once said: “Nobody is free until everybody is free.”
If celebrated in this way, with this outlook, then Juneteenth will never lose its significance. It will always remind us that the struggle is real, and it continues on.
Now our Call to Worship
In today’s Call to Worship we are going to be using a rather unique word for our normal response of “amen.” The word “ASHE” (pronounced Ah’shay) is a South western Nigerian Yorubian word that similar to“amen” also means “so be it” or “may it be so.” So follow along with me as we recite today’s Call to Worship:
Worship Leader (WL): In the beginning before humans were formed and nature knew God’s great presence, the Spirit moved over the universe.
PEOPLE OF GOD: ASHE!
THE EARTH IS THE LORD’S AND ALL THAT IS IN IT, THE WORLD, AND THOSE WHO LIVE IN IT;
FOR GOD HAS FOUNDED IT ON THE SEAS, AND ESTABLISHED IT ON THE RIVERS. Psalm 24:1-2
WL: In quiet peace God created all humans, colorful, balanced and creatively diverse and the beauty of God’s love filled the earth
PEOPLE OF GOD: ASHE!
YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. Matthew 22: 37-39
The Flag colors—red, white, and blue—are the same as the U.S. flag, emphasizing that those formerly enslaved and their descendants are Americans.
Juneteenth is an unknow Independence Day in the United States. Some also call it Freedom Day. Others call it Emancipation Day.
No matter its name, it is a day celebrating the end of slavery in our country. Juneteenth is a legitimate holiday that is essentially a celebration of freedom. It is a holiday that deserves a more substantial place in United States’ history. It is a day to celebrate everyone’s freedom – not just for Black-Americans, but for all Americans.
Last year, before the “twice impeached and one-term President” took credit making Juneteenth “very famous” after postponing his political rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma forgetting about the massacre that happen in Tulsa’s “Black Wall Street” killing 300 people just for being Black and successful, most people – black and white - never heard of Juneteenth. [1]
Juneteenth - short for “June Nineteenth” - marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed. The troops’ arrival came a full two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. It was also two months after the end of the Civil War with Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrender n Virginia.
Freedom did not come at the “snap of a finger” for everyone in Texas. Some people who should have been freed continued to work through the harvest season because their masters withheld this announcement to reap more wages out of their slaves. This left many former slaves treated as though they were still in bondage.
In “Lone Star Pasts” Susan Merritt reported:
“Lots of Negroes were killed after freedom...bushwhacked, shot down while they were trying to get away. You could see lots of Negroes hanging from trees in Sabine bottom right after freedom."
Juneteenth is the only day that marks the end of our Civil War.
Originally, the first national celebration of ending the Civil War took place May 30, 1868, at Arlington National Cemetery, where both Confederate and Union soldiers were buried. This holiday was known as Decoration Day. At the turn of the century, it was designated as Memorial Day.[2] Most people in the US do not know the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Still today, there is no date honoring the end of slavery or the Civil War other than Juneteenth.[3]
Our Constitution seemed to protect slavery in the states, prohibited Congress from banning the slave trade for twenty years, and required that fugitive slaves, even in the North, be returned to their masters. Because of these apparent constitutional protections, a bloody Civil War was fought to free the slaves and win ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to end slavery in the U.S. forever. The Constitution, therefore, in the eyes of some scholars, seems to be a contradiction to the universal ideals of liberty and equality in the American Founding and the Declaration of Independence which proclaimed, “all men are created equal” and endowed with “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Consider the 13th Amendment: It abolishes slavery, but the Fugitive Slave Clause — which requires escaped slaves to be returned to their masters — remains in the Constitution as a painful reminder of America’s original sin.
While many naturalized US citizens do not know that 17 September is Constitution Day – a federal observance of the adoption of the US Constitution back in 1787 when it was signed in Philadelphia. [4]
And less know that Emancipation Day is April 16, marking the anniversary of the signing of the Compensated Emancipation Act, which President Lincoln signed in 1862.
July of Fourth may have been the announcement our separation from our former king and England, it seems fitting the Juneteenth is United States’ true Independence Day when all people were absolutely free – while at least males were free. As for women? There is still the work to get Harriet Tubman adorn on the $20 bill. After all, Frederick Douglass did write, “Whatever Andrew Johnson may be, he certainly is no friend of our race.” So why the delay of removing a racist white man off the $20 bill?[5]
Saturday 19 June 2021 marks the 156th anniversary of Juneteenth.
Congress hasn’t created a new holiday since 1983, when it made one for Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. Now some lawmakers are talking about a day commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S. by making Juneteenth a federal holiday.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) wants to change that and wants to make making it a national holiday.
“I cannot imagine this nation healing from the enormous and penetrating impact of race, racism and the history of slavery without officially acknowledging a day in the nation’s history that really speaks to freedom and independence for those who carried the burden of slavery,” Jackson Lee told HuffPost.
“These past years of constant evidence of disparities in the African American community shows that the stain of slavery has not ended,” she said.
The federal government observes 11 national holidays, some respecting traditions such as Christmas and Thanksgiving, and others honoring military service and workers. Adding a holiday is pretty straightforward ― there doesn’t need to be a blue-ribbon commission, a lengthy committee process or a major national conversation. Congress just needs to write a bill, vote on it and get the president’s signature.
In addition to her “Juneteenth Independence Day” legislation that would make it an official holiday, Jackson Lee said this is a day of importance and supporting “the continued celebration of Juneteenth Independence Day to provide an opportunity for the people of the United States to learn more about the past.” [6]
[1] This President later canceled the event amid heavy criticism.
[2] On June 28, 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved four holidays, including Memorial Day, from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend. The change moved Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May.
[3] Memorial Day: Celebrated the last Monday in May, Memorial Day is the holiday set aside to pay tribute to those who died serving in the military.
Veterans Day: This federal holiday falls on November 11 and is designated as a day to honor all who have served in the military. According to Military.com, Veterans Day began as Armistice Day to honor the end of World War I, which officially took place on November 11, 1918.
[4] From the annual Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey:
”This year [2020], an unusually high 51% of the U.S. adults surveyed could name the three branches of government – the executive branch [President], the legislative branch [Congress] and the judicial branch [Supreme Court]. That compares with 39% in the 2019 survey, which was the high point in 10 prior surveys, since 2006, in which APPC asked this question.”
[5] Like many slave owners, President Jackson did not always live up to his stated ideals. He ordered harsh, even brutal, punishment for enslaved people who disobeyed orders. When an enslaved woman named Betty was judged to be “guilty of some improper conduct,” he wrote to his overseer that she “must be ruled with the cowhide” and should be given fifty lashes the next time she misbehaved.
When an enslaved man ran away from The Hermitage, the punishment was even more extreme. He put an advertisement in the Tennessee Gazette that promised a reward for the man’s return, “and ten dollars extra, for every hundred lashes any person will give him, to the amount of three hundred,” which would almost certainly have killed the runaway man.
More importantly, even when Jackson did live up to paternalistic ideals, the enslaved people he owned could not leave his property without his consent, had no access to education, and worked long hours with no pay.
[6] “Congress Could Make Juneteenth A National Holiday” from Huffington Post, 06/16/2020.