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Juneteenth art
While this marks the second national Juneteenth holiday — officially entering the consciousness of the entire United States last June 17, when President Joe Biden signed a bill recognizing June 19 as a national holiday — the day has held significance for well over a century. And, thanks to the advocacy of Fort Worthian Opal Lee — the official grandmother of the holiday — the day is of particular import in Fort Worth.
For those who don’t know, the day commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States. On June 19, 1865, over two months after the technical end of the American Civil War, Union Army general Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3 in Galveston, which proclaimed freedom of enslaved people in Texas. The Emancipation Proclamation occurred over two years earlier, on Jan. 1, 1863.
To honor the holiday, we asked a few prominent voices within Fort Worth’s Black community to give their thoughts on what the holiday means to them personally.
Chris Nettles, City Councilmember, District 8
It’s remarkable that we live in a nation that recognize Juneteenth as a National Holiday and we as a city recognize it as a city holiday. We have come a long way, but we have a long way to go. Today we celebrate progress and a pathway forward.
Jonathan Morris, owner, Hotel Dryce and Fort Worth Barbershop
Juneteenth is particularly meaningful because it likely would not have been pushed to the forefront of national dialogue if not for the groundwork that Miss Opal Lee has laid down for decades right here in Fort Worth. The spirit of Fort Worthians like her is shaping the future of not just Fort Worth but the entire globe.
Choke, artist and owner of BrooHa Market
Juneteenth…to me is one of many celebrations of black liberation in this country. Juneteenth being recognized as a federal holiday is a first step toward proper reconciliation and a consistent reminder to remain active in our need for systematic change in this country.
Henry Abuto, chef and owner of ByWasonga
Outside of its historical and monumental significance as it pertains to freedom, Juneteenth to me is so much more than that. It is a celebration of perseverance, ambition, dreams unfullfilled, and of a hope that does not put us to shame.
While my background (immigrant from Kenya) is different from other Black Americans, we all live in this country under the shadow and remnants of the atrocity that was slavery. To celebrate this holiday is an honor. We celebrate it with deep gratitude for those who labored, fought, and died for a better tomorrow.
We celebrate it as a lasting symbol of the (hard won) acknowledgment of injustice, and of a dignity restored. As we go up to the mountain that MLK spoke about, Juneteenth serves as a reminder to look back on the past and remember the journey. As my friend Jada Nicome beautifully captioned a photo last year (of black excellence and joy) , “we are living our ancestors wildest dreams”. And to that I add, we are just getting started. Happy Juneteenth!
Johnica Rivers, writer
As we celebrate Juneteenth, I worry about the unintended consequences of Juneteenth as a federal holiday and not just a celebration for Afro-Texans. In an essay I recently wrote for DETOUR, I talk about a close friend who worries that people will forget those of us whose ancestors bore the burden of nearly two years of unnecessary enslavement. Like her great-great-grandmother, Catherine Howard Meredith, who ran away from a plantation in Washington County, Texas after she heard rumors of the Emancipation Proclamation but was recaptured and forced back into work, only to learn she’d been free the whole time. So, this year in the face of flattening and historical erasure, I am focused on remembering.
