The Chamber’s Black Business Alliance met on June 20, 2024 at One Love Lounge with CDR (CHC) (Ret.) Chaplain Richmond Stoglin, who provided the group both the history and importance of Juneteeth. Below are his remarks.
AND WHAT OF JUNETEENTH?
It was Monday, 19 June 1865 and, from the balcony of the Ashton Villa on Galveston Island, Texas, the former headquarters of the Texas Confederate Army, did Brigadier General Gordon Granger read General Order #3. However, before reading Order #3 to you this evening, let’s take an immediate step back in history which led up to this magnanimous event in the state’s and nation’s history. Per the Army Historical Foundation documents record the following.
…By late Spring 1865, it was clear the end was near. Brigadier General Granger commanded the lX troops attached to the Army of West Mississippi when it captured Fort Blakeley.
DIRECT ORDERS
“On your arrival at Galveston assume command of all troops in the Sate of Texas; carry out the conditions of the surrender of General Kirby Smith to Major- General Candy; notify the people of Texas that in accordance with the existing proclamation from the Executive of the United States, ‘all slaves are free; advise such freed-men that they must remain at home; that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts, and will not be supported in idleness. Notify the people of Texas that all acts of the Governor and Legislature of Texas since the ordinance of secession are illegitimate. Take such steps as in your judgment are move conducive to the restoration of law and order and the return of the State to her true allegiance to the United States Government.”
For enforcing emancipation upon the population of the South, President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was the legal precedent. The 13th Amendment outlawing slavery was still being debated in Congress, and would not be ratified until December 6th. Texas, unlike the other Confederate states, had never truly been conquered by the Union Army during the war. Seeing the writing on the wall, most Confederate forces in Texas had dissolved before or shortly after Confederate General Kirby Smith surrendered his army to Union forces on 2 June, which raised interns that “many white Texans did not feel defeated and were not inclined to comply with Federal orders and laws.” All this meant that bringing freedoms to the slaves came down to its practical enforcement by Army units like those under Gordon Granger in Texas.
On 19 June 1865, General Gordon Granger crafted the three new general orders. The first of which he likely read aloud the the Ashton Villa balcony he had made his quarters.
However, Juneteenth didn’t begin in 1865, it started centuries ago, when this country was in its infancy; did it decide to stand up against the tyranny of England.
In the background of Juneteenth, the new military administration of a State, and a recalcitrant white population, Granger was also dealing with issues at the Mexican border. France had invaded Mexico in 1861, and would remain the country until 1867. Numerous Confederates had joined up with the French supported Exterior Maximillian, and the border was generally a dangerous place with smugglers working both sides. With so many competing dangerous interests that draws on resources, it is clear why Ulysses Grant and Philip Sheridan saw the “Texas problem” as one of the most vexing in the aftermath of Appomattox.
This “Emancipation Day” in Texas came to be known by several different names as it evolved: firstly, it was “Jubilee Day,” then by the 1890’s the term “Juneteenth” began being used to describe it. The first Jubilee Day celebrations occurred on the one-year anniversary of the reading of General Order #3.
The successes and failures of the Reconstruction in the United States can be seen in the perception, acceptance, and celebration of Juneteenth as a holiday over time. The early years of Reconstruction saw the heyday of this celebration. Many former slaves had a direct connection to the reading of General Order #3 or its immediate impact of emancipation. Additionally, the protections afforded by the military government of Texas allowed greater freedom to the Black American populations in the state to express themselves and their culture. The crackdown that occurred towards the end of Reconstruction, with the Federal government ceding civil responsibility and protection of rights back to Texas and other southern states resulted in a heavy backlash from the majority white population. Such overt expressions of Union triumph and the defeat of the Confederacy as a celebration of emancipation were seen as threats to a new segregationist civil society that sought to diminish the political power of black citizens. Today, Juneteenth has achieved a wide recognition across the United Sates. On 18 June 2021, President Biden signed into law, “A Proclamation on Juneteenth Day of Observance” and made the reading of General Orders #3 a federal holiday.
What took so long for word to reach Texas to free its slaves? To be certain the Civil War was started for four reasons: slavery, states vs rights, economics and the election of Abraham Lincoln as the first Republican to the US Presidency. At stake specifically in Texas in 1861 were 170,00 slaves, making up one third of the population. It was cotton that drove the state’s economy an plantations relied on slavery for profitability. Although, 75% of Texas did not own slaves. Before transitioning to the next point, it should be noted slavery was brutal, oppressive and evil. There were Texas unionist who fought in Texas against slavery and many of them were killed.
What is Juneteenth, then and now? Because of the Lincoln Administration, the strong advocacy of Frederick Douglass, William Still, Robert Smalls, Harriett Tubman, and the fighting reputation of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments were passed overwhelmingly by the Republican votes. Between 1865-1877, 210,000 black people owned 15 million acres across 925,000 farms.
And What of Juneteenth’s legacy?
Today, as this nation celebrates Juneteenth, we commemorate liberation. It is as those slaves who were determined to keep their families together, no matter what. As a historian, theologian, chaplain, veteran, and Anglican Priest, the lessons of Juneteenth speaks volumes to me. Our people were born into slavery; they participated in the Civil War earning 16 nominations for the Medal of Honor. They were determined to learn how to read and write, create/run HBCU’s, had the audacity to be elected to the US Congress, and signed into law institutions such as Texas A&M, Prairie View A&M. A state where the first Black Sheriff in the nation was elected. A place where 150 colored men and 20 white men 4 July 1867 created the Republican Party of Texas! Juneteenth is about freedom and hope. It is not about slavery and victimhood. Frederick Douglass was right, “You shall not be judged by the heights you have risen, but from the depths you have climbed.” I challenge each of you here today, to emulate those words from a man who knew the whips of slavery, but embraced the opportunities of freedom.
For those who may not know, before becoming known as the BBA, we were known as CILR, the Community Influence Leaders Roundtable. Several of the members are here, today, and with collective leadership, we helped change the City of Arlington, the County of Tarrant and I dare say, the Great State of Texas—For the better.
Thank You, Semper Fi