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Happy Juneteenth
19 June 2025
As national holidays go, Juneteenth is an outlier. There are no Juneteenth Sales. And this year there isn't even a presidential proclamation. Even last year's by President Biden was wiped from the White House Web site (but you can read it in the archives).
General Order No. 3. Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, June 19, 1865..
It wouldn't surprise us to learn that Trump has no idea what Juneteeth is all about. He's been preoccupied lately. No, not with Iran but with the installation of two flag poles at the White House.
As indefatigable observers of national holidays, we've been celebrating Juneteenth since 2021. This year is no exception. We'll be closed.
But it isn't easy to celebrate this year. NPR reports Juneteenth organizers are worried about safety at their events. We've become that kind of country lately.
Corporate sponsors have pulled back and some government officials have stopped paying state employees on the holiday.
You have to wonder why.
The day celebrates the occasion when the 250,000 people in Galveston, Tex., where it all began, learned they were no longer slaves. On June 19, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3 in Galveston, announcing that in accordance with the Emancipation Proclamation, "all slaves are free." He and his Union troops had arrived to enforce the law.
Now we have Marines pretending to be part of the round-up of "violent criminals" in Los Angeles (like those day laborers at Home Depot) for deportation in what is one of the most racist government actions since the internments of World War II.
But, like we said, Happy Juneteenth. Fire up the barbecue. Invite the neighborhood. Eat, drink, be merry. While you still can.