Juneteenth Kabbalat Shabbat

Juneteenth is the most recognized African-American holiday observance in the United States and celebrates African American history, culture and progress. The holiday is also referred to as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, and Black Independence Day.

June 19, 1865 is considered the date when the last slaves in America were freed. Although the rumors of freedom were widespread prior to this, actual emancipation did not come until General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas with the news that the Civil War had ended and that 250,000 enslaved people were now free. Although the Emancipation Proclamation had formally freed them almost two and a half years earlier (January 1, 1863), Texas was the most remote of the slave states with few Union troops, so enforcement of the proclamation had been slow.

Junteenth continues to expand as Black Americans seek to make sure that the events of 1865 are not lost to history.…