Walks, barbecues, music and speeches, the United States celebrated “Juneteenth” on Saturday, the anniversary of the end of slavery in this country, now a holiday, one year after the death of George Floyd.
His murder sparked a grassroots movement against racism and police brutality against African Americans in the United States and beyond. The mobilization helped, among other things, to considerably strengthen the visibility of “Juneteenth”, which many Americans, including African Americans, were unaware of even two years ago. A contraction of the words “June” and “19” in English, this date marks the day when the last slaves on an island in Texas learned, on June 19, 1865, that they were free.
Slavery was formally abolished in December 1865 with the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, but “Juneteenth”, celebrated the following year in Texas, has remained as the milestone date for the emancipation of African Americans.
Festive occasion since 1866, “Juneteenth” is even more so this year because it is also the first national event celebrated without health restrictions, most of the measures still in force to fight against the coronavirus pandemic having been lifted in recent weeks.
Hundreds of events were planned across the United States, from New York to Los Angeles via the Texas island of Galveston, considered the symbolic place of “Juneteenth”. And on Thursday, US President Joe Biden passed a law making June 19 a national holiday, 156 years later. “It took a long time», Reacted Cheryl Green (68 years), present for the inauguration, in Brooklyn, of a statue of George Floyd, killed by a police officer in Minneapolis in May 2020.
«It’s a good thing people recognize what happened», Explained this African-American resident of this New York neighborhood. “The changes are taking place slowly, but for sure, we will get therer.»
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