June 19th: The Day That Slavery was Abolished

Juneteenth is the annual celebration that honours the liberation of African American slaves in the U.S.A. on June 19th 1865. Also known as Freedom Day, June 19th aims to educate society and celebrate the cultural diversity of the nation, with communities organizing food and music festivals, street parties and events to commemorate this immense historical occasion.

Juneteenth Campaigning

  The events of June 19th occurred in Texas, when the Union General Granger announced the end of the Civil War, which actually settled two months earlier. Due to Texas' inclusion in the Confederate States of America, the Emancipation Proclamation of September 1862 was delayed a further two and a half years from coming into effect, meaning General Granger could not free the last 250,000 slaves until June 19th 1865.
  In January 1980, Juneteenth was made a state holiday in Texas, enabling celebrants to hold fetes and events in honour of African American heritage, and use this day as a jubilee for respecting all cultures. More recently, a further 40 states received June 19th as a state holiday in June 2011, consequently meaning the majority of America can celebrate the abolition of slavery either for a single day, a whole week, or an entire month! Although the state holiday only falls on June 19th, many citizens like to campaign long-term for the implications and important messages behind Juneteenth.


  "A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots." 

- Marcus Garvey, Jamaican political leader/founder of Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League

Raising awareness: Human Trafficking = Slavery

  Although 1865 seems an extremely long time ago, and you'd expect society to have improved in leaps and bounds since then; slavery still exists. Ok, they don't call it "slavery" anymore, but the principles are the same. Human trafficking happens all over the world, including the U.S.A., where slavery was supposed to have been abolished for 147 years today! So it is especially important to consider the on-going problem of trafficking on days like today, raising awareness to an issue regarding, what should be, our number one concern: our human rights.