Juneteenth: Why June 19, 1865 Changed Everything & What Most People Still Don't Know About It

Most people know June 19 as Juneteenth. But most people don't know the full story of what that day actually was — and why it took more than two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation for Black people in Texas to hear the word freedom. Or that some enslaved people weren't told until after the harvest season was over — because their enslavers wanted to squeeze out one more crop. Or that it took a 94-year-old woman named Opal Lee walking 2.5 miles every year in tennis shoes for decades to finally push Juneteenth to become a federal holiday in 2021.

In this episode of Past Present Pushback, XO, AZ, and CDA sit down in the man cave and tell the full Juneteenth story — from Galveston, Texas in 1865 to the signing ceremony at the White House 156 years later. The history, the traditions, what it means, what it represents, and why it matters now more than ever.

Keywords: Juneteenth history origin, June 19 1865 Galveston Texas, Emancipation Proclamation delay Texas, Opal Lee Grandmother Juneteenth, Juneteenth federal holiday 2021, General Order No 3, Juneteenth meaning what it represents, Black freedom day history, Past Present Pushback podcast