Today is Juneteenth. It is a day of celebration and remembrance honoring the end of slavery in the United States of America. The Emancipation Proclamation, widely taught as the end of slavery in the US, was issued in January of 1863. However Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865. This was the day the Union Army officially liberated Texas, which then held the last remaining population of African slaves in the Confederacy.
As a holiday, Juneteenth is recognized in some form by 47 out of the 50 states, but is not formally recognized at a federal level. 2020 has seen a growing number of private organizations begin to recognize it. The Carolina Panthers are one of many teams, in addition to the NFL league office, who are observing today as a holiday.
Our offices will be closed this Friday in observance of #Juneteenth pic.twitter.com/QWAOsmBba6
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) June 16, 2020
This is another one of those steps that the Panthers, not to mention the NFL as a whole, we used to know never would have taken. It is a step both big and small, in terms of how far we have came and how very far we have left to go in the pursuit of equality. So, please, take their example today and learn a bit about Juneteenth and engage with your community as responsibly as you can during the pandemic.