Freedom Has Arrived

On June 19, 1865, federal troops arrived in the port city of Galveston, Texas, to share news of the Emancipation Proclamation, announcing that all enslaved people were free.

While the news was welcomed by many, it arrived a bit late — a full two and a half years late, to be exact — and no doubt came as a surprise to the enslaved population of Galveston, who were the last in the nation to learn that they had been freed by the proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863.

Texas was geographically isolated at the time, and during the Civil War many slaveholders had migrated there from points east, bringing their enslaved men, women and children with them. By 1865, it’s estimated there were 250,000 enslaved people in Texas — a lot of people who didn’t know they were free.

Progress, like news in the 19th century, moves slowly at times. It was only a year ago, on June 19, 2021, when Juneteenth was recognized as a federal holiday. Because the history surrounding Juneteenth was never taught in schools, it’s a day that many of us knew little about.

But, hopefully, that will now begin to change.

Local municipalities, banks and schools honored the new holiday by closing this past Monday, and a number of local Juneteenth observances and events took place throughout the East End. Among the festivities was a weekend-long Juneteenth celebration at the Southampton African American Museum, and in East Hampton, a plaque and history kiosk was unveiled at the Lee A. Hayes Youth Park in Amagansett, which has been renamed for the Tuskegee Airman who lived here for most of his life. Hayes, who died in 2013 at the age of 91, would have turned 100 years old on June 20.

At a time when many in this country seek to sow the seeds of division by painting perceived opponents with a broad brush or minimalize the importance of events like Juneteenth, it’s vital that we stay focused by honoring the day through observances that teach the next generation what it was all about.

At times, progress does indeed move at a snail’s pace. Which is why we owe it to those Texans who were enslaved for two and half years longer than they should have been that freedom has arrived for all.

Now go help spread the word.