In 2021, President Biden signed legislation proclaiming Juneteenth a federal holiday. The observance commemorates the day when the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free. Although Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed the enslaved in 1863, that could not be enforced in many Southern areas until the Civil War ended in 1865.
The celebrations began with the enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, hence the name Juneteenth. Texas-based author, poet, and artist Van G. Garrett has written a children’s picture book about the history of the holiday. In this interview, “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes speaks with the author about the new book and the holiday.
“It took on energy that was just so hard to describe as a kid, but then when I learned the significance of Juneteenth, it made me appreciate that gathering even more,” Garrett said.
