Thread by @InsideEdition

THREAD What Is Juneteenth? The Celebration of the End of Slavery, Explained
#JuneteenthDay
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1/ Today is June 19th aka Juneteenth aka Emancipation Day. It marks the day that slavery officially ended in the United States.
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2/ Even though President Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863 and the Confederate general, Robert E. Lee, had surrendered in April 1865, some enslaved people in Texas weren’t aware that they were free until June of that year.
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3/ The major general of the Union Army, Gordon Granger, arrived in Texas with the news on June 18. The following day, he announced the emancipation of enslaved Black people.
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4/ "The formerly enslaved African Americans then turned that into a holiday. And, of course, Juneteenth is a combination of the month of June and the date, the 19th." – Lori Brooks, @FordhamNYC
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5/ One reason Juneteenth became a national celebration is because of the Poor People’s March in 1968, according to Brooks.
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6/ "The Poor People’s March was sort of the second arm of the Civil Rights movement. Whereas the Civil Rights movement was fighting for access for African Americans to American institutions and to social spaces and also the demand for dignity and rights…”
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7/ “…it eventually moved into a struggle against poverty, which was a way to incorporate African Americans who lived in the urban north into the Civil Rights movement.” – Lori Brooks, @FordhamNYC
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For the full story on Juneteenth, explained:
ietv.co/2YLbr3a #JuneteenthDay