Although it has started to gain attention and popularity in recent years, Kathern Harris remembers when little to nothing was ever said about the Juneteenth holiday.
Juneteenth officially became a federal holiday June 17, 2021, and is celebrated on June 19. But it has been observed by many people for a much longer time. Harris remembers when it was a smaller community-based celebration and was celebrated at various times and dates.
“There used to be a fairly large celebration in Paducah, Kentucky in the summer that my parents would go to,” Harris explained. “Sometimes it would be in August; but my parents would observe it every year.
“It used to be known by different names. Celebration Day, Proclamation Day, Freedom Day... It was largely considered to be a different Independence Day for African Americans.”
The history of Juneteenth is centered around the fact that at the end of slavery, news of the Emancipation Proclamation was slow to reach Texas — which was among the furthest unsettled states in the union. In fact, many slave owners are historically noted as moving from their homes and establishing residence in Texas in order to keep their enslave people. As a result, many were still in chains more than a year after the Emancipation Proclamation because they simply didn’t know they had been declared free. It is a matter of great historical significance that Union soldiers freed the enslaved people of Texas on June 19, 1865 — two years after President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
“There were probably many reasons that people believed they were still enslaved,” Harris noted. “They simply were doing what they thought they had to do. Without the Union troops telling them they were free, nothing would have changed for them. I know that there are reports of some slave owners asking the slaves to continue to stay with them voluntarily — and maybe some of them did, but the importance of what happened on June 19th will always be felt.”
Harris explained that the holiday never was completely forgotten; but during the age of Jim Crow, many African Americans struggled to keep a sense of identity and purpose. Those struggles didn’t often lend themselves to large public celebrations.
“You see what happened during the segregation era, and the struggles from that,” Harris remarked. “But you also need to consider the struggles that came from integration.”
Harris went on to explain that the Black population had largely adapted to being segregated and having their own neighborhoods, businesses and schools.
“For example, a student in a Black school could have worked hard to achieve and to become the top of their class or something of that nature; but when they got integrated, there are suddenly more students to compete with and a new set of obstacles,” Harris explained. “It required a lot of adjustment. Not to say that integration wasn’t worth it — because it was — but, we had gone from handling one situation to being presented with another one to overcome.”
Somewhere along the way, the Juneteenth holiday slipped further away from the public consciousness.
“Martin Luther King was in the process of bringing it back to the public eye,” Harris remarked. “That was why he scheduled a march in the summer months from June through July. But, unfortunately... we all know what happened to him before those marches could happen.”
Harris attended high school in Neelyville, and said there was some awareness of Juneteenth among her peers, but it wasn’t celebrated.
“When I was in elementary school, I attended school in Portageville, and I learned about the holiday there,” she remarked. “But, it seemed to go quiet as time went on. Sometimes progress doesn’t always feel like progress.”
Harris said she is thrilled to see the change that has come about in recent years.
“The fact that it is federally recognized and so many people celebrate it makes me very happy,” Harris stated. “It makes me feel good to see multiple generations from across different cultures and ethnic backgrounds come together to celebrate this holiday.
“Especially here in Poplar Bluff — it has grown considerably every year. And it is just so well organized. Everyone involved with it does such a good job, and they also make it so the information is presented to everyone for them to understand why the holiday is celebrated and why it’s important.”
Harris said she is very optimistic based on the trajectory the holiday has taken in recent years.
“It is starting to feel like more progress,” Harris said. “Hopefully it just keeps going and gets passed from one generation to the next.”