June 17, 2022

Celebrating Juneteenth. 

Before I could celebrate Juneteenth, I had to find out the significance of that awkward word. Here goes.  It combines June and nineteenth. It’s believed to be the oldest African-American holiday, with annual celebrations on June 19th.   From its Galveston, Texas origin in 1865, the observance of June 19 as the African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States .

Opal Lee, a Black retired school teacher from Texas campaigned to have the day when slavery was declared illegal a national holiday. June 19, 2022 is the second anniversary of that historic occasion. 

Here’s Miss Lee being introduced to President Biden as he signs the proclamation making Juneteenth an official holiday.