Celebrate the liberty trifecta on a site funded by, appropriately enough, the Liberty Fund.
Five years ago, I didn’t even know why Apple put Juneteenth on my Mac calendar. I just assumed that it was a play on words.
And then I checked.
Juneteenth really is rightly celebrated as the end of slavery in America.
Two other dates in June stand out for those who, like me, are into freedom: June 12 and June 30. Interestingly, two of the three (June 19 and June 30) were historic days on which slavery in America ended. And two of the three (June 12 and June 19) were historic days on which black Americans made major strides.
June 12
On June 12, 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court found, in Loving v. Virginia, that anti-miscegenation laws were illegal. Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Loving, a black woman, had gotten married in Washington, D.C. in 1958, where interracial marriages were legal, and then returned home to Virginia. Five weeks later, they were arrested by the local sheriff. Think about that. They were married in 1958 and they didn’t win their case until 9 years later. The wheels of justice move slowly. By the way, what a great name for a Supreme Court decision about two people in love.
Those laws affected my white friend Fred Jealous, who married a black woman, Ann Jealous. They and their son Ben Jealous tell the story here. They got married in Washington, D.C., because they couldn’t legally marry in Maryland, where Ann grew up.
June 19
The Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 did not come close to ending U.S. slavery. If you carefully read the actual proclamation, you will see why.
It was actually on June 19, 1865, that slavery was ended. That was the day that Major General Gordon Granger ordered the enforcement of the proclamation in Texas. It makes a lot of sense to celebrate the 160th anniversary of the abolition of slavery
June 30
On June 30, 1973, the federal government’s authority to draft American men expired. It was not renewed. 52 years later, it still has not been renewed. That’s two generations of American men.
HT2 Taylor Davidson.
