Juneteenth

Today is a federal holiday.

The date commemorates when enslaved people in Galveston Texas were told they were no longer enslaved people. This information was kept from them for over two years (since the Emancipation Proclamation was issued January 1, 1863) because the people doing the enslaving wanted to continue to benefit from their labor.

A lot of Americans never learned this in school. But there is no excuse for not knowing it now.

I hope you will take a few minutes today and learn more about this part of American history. Think about the suffering of the people who were enslaved. Think about the moral depravity of the people doing the enslaving. If we learn from history, we can make the present and the future better.

(image source: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=878878394283327&set=a.284304410407398)