Two Worthy Commemorations

Today—19 June 2022—America observes two worthy commemorations: Father's Day and Juneteenth.

Juneteenth celebrates the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Texas were finally liberated (two and a half years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation—and two months after he was murdered in a Confederate plot).  Although slavery already had been legally abolished in the Confederate States, obstreperous local governments sought to defy the Nation (again).  On 19 June 1865, Union General Gordon Granger was sent to Galveston, Texas to announce and enforce the mandate.  Although this action (called "General Order No. 3") marks the end of enslavement in the Confederate States, there were two remaining Union states which had yet to end slavery: Delaware and Kentucky.  They did so later that year.  Today, Juneteenth is a federal holiday and a celebration of Black emancipation and Black culture.  Viewed with a wider lens, it can be viewed as a date when America moved one step closer to the ideal "that all men are created equal"—and that America became a better place for all people, not just African Americans.

It's also Father's Day.  Let's take a moment to remember the significant men in our lives—biologically related or not, living or dead—and give thanks for their effort, patience and love which helped form us into the people we are today.