GALVESTON, Texas (CN) - Even in the Texas in the summer heat, thousands, including former president Joe Biden. gathered Thursday across Galveston to watch and join the events of the 160th Juneteenth celebrations.
On June 19, 1865, two thousand Union troops led by General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas and posted his General Order No. 3 across the town. This order emancipated all the slaves in Texas by executive decree, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
As the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History & Culture puts it, "Juneteenth marks our country's second independence day."
Biden, who signed a law declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021, spoke at an evening church service at Reedy Chapel, one of the sites where Union soldiers posted copies of Granger's order.
"Juneteenth is a day of liberation, a day of remembrance, and a day of celebration," Biden told the audience in Reedy Chapel. "The Book of Psalms tells us weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning. Juneteenth represents both the long and hard night of slavery and subjugation, and the promise of the joyful morning to come."
Biden highlighted his faith in the church-pulpit speech, bonding with the largely-African American audience over his experience attending an African Methodist Episcopal Church like Reedy Chapel in addition to his usual Catholic mass.
But the former president's speech focused more heavily on the historical and cultural significance of Juneteenth. He recalled how late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee would introduce legislation every year of her career to try to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, until her bill finally passed both houses in 2021 and Biden signed it into law.
"Democrats and Republicans came together ... to immortalize this profound moment in American history. I'll tell you, it made me proud, despite all our differences, we could still come together for the things that matter most. And this matters as much as anything in American history. A federal holiday says a lot about who we are as Americans, what we value, what we celebrate. And now we have a national holiday dedicated to the emancipation of enslaved people," he said.
Biden repeatedly reminded the crowd that not only is Juneteenth important history, but that it is especially important today, and that those who want to preserve this history must continue the hard work.
"All too often, the story of what happened here is not written in our textbooks, not taught in our classrooms," Biden told the crowd later in the speech. "Our children are not exposed to it. And so today, some say to me and to you that this doesn't deserve to be a federal holiday. They don't want to remember what we all remember: the moral stain of slavery. I've often called it America's original sin. Well, I took the view as president that we need to be honest about our history."
Biden continued, "Well, folks, darkness can hide much, but can erase nothing. Only in truth can come justice and healing. Folks, I don't come here to commemorate our past, but because we know the good Lord isn't done with us yet. We've got more work to do. Scripture tells us that faith without works is dead, so it's not enough to keep the faith. We have work to do. We need to keep pushing America forward, make good on the promise of liberty, equality, and justice for all. We led the world, and now we're sagging."
Prior to the speech, Galveston mayor Craig Brown also presented Biden with a plaque honoring his role in making Juneteenth a federal holiday.
Galveston hosted several major events on Juneteenth itself, part of a whole month of festivities. In addition to the church service where Biden spoke, the island hosted an annual awards gala in honor of a state representative who pushed for recognition of Juneteenth, a parade and picnic, and a fireworks display along the beach.
The celebrations come as President Donald Trump has made significant strides into eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion policies nationwide and has removed information about Black Americans from federal websites. The president seemingly referenced the federal holiday in a post on his Truth Social platform.
"Too many non-working holidays in America. It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed. The workers don't want it either! Soon we'll end up having a holiday for every once working day of the year. It must change if we are going to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Trump wrote.
Source: Courthouse News Service
