Juneteenth is now a federal and state holiday, although Tallahassee has its own holiday on May 20th to remember the day that Union troops arrived in the capital city and enforced the Emancipation Proclamation. The announcement came at what is now the Knott House, just blocks from the Capitol.
Last month, the city celebrated the 160th anniversary of freedom for Florida's enslaved people.
Today, June 19th, is a paid day off for many workers. While May 20th is the date Florida’s enslaved people got word that they were free, it took another month for the message to reach Texas.
Today on the Speaking Of Radio Hour, we’re getting a history lesson and some analysis from two local historians and scholars.
“I think that it is important to recognize the specific day that enslaved Floridians received their freedom, which was May 20 of 1865. Now in terms of recognizing Juneteenth, I do think that is important because it is a reflection of a very important principle, a principle that states that until all of us are free, none of us are free," says Dr. Andrea Oliver, a professor of history at Tallahassee State College and a member of the WFSU Community Advisory Board.
"While it is true that enslaved Floridians received their freedom a month earlier, roughly a month earlier than enslaved Texans received theirs, I think it is important to acknowledge that there was still enslavement being carried out or at the very least that people didn't know that enslavement had in fact ended with the conclusion of the Civil War.”
Oliver says she reminds her students that social media and Facetime did not exist, and there was no fast way to get the news to enslaved people. She sees Juneteenth "as America's true independence day."
"At the time of July 4, 1776, 25% of the American population was held in bondage, and slavery was legal under the banner of the American flag," Oliver says. "To come full circle 87 years later and have in 1865 a true revolution resulting in true freedom and true liberation and the ending of Human Bondage within our borders, I don't think that we can really overstate how significant that really is."
"So many times I hear people say July 4 is not our Independence Day. We are not celebrating July 4. We celebrate Juneteenth. That's our Freedom Day," says Dr. Tiffany Packer, an associate professor of history at Florida A&M University and Chair of History, Political Science, Geography, and African American Studies.
"There were Black soldiers who fought on behalf of the Patriot army because they understood the power of independence even then, and their role in that American revolution will continue to plant seeds of freedom that will come over time," Packer says.
"It is also a reminder that when you're pushing and fighting for freedom, that you have to lock your knees. It is not instant. It's not instant gratification," Packer says. "Sometimes it's a seed that you plant that you may not reap the benefits of during your lifetime, but you know that you still have to put it down so that it will be there for the generations to come. So Black involvement in that American revolution is what helped America secure its own independence but will also open the door for the continued fight of freedom for themselves in 1865."
Hear the conversations by clicking LISTEN above or by clicking on the extended interviews.
