For more than half a century — a notable 51 years now, to be precise — Duluth has celebrated Juneteenth, or Freedom Day.
It’s the commemoration of the day in 1865 when slaves in Galveston, Texas, learned of their freedom — which was nearly three years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on Sept. 22, 1862, and more than two years after it took effect on Jan. 1, 1863.
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Annual observances in Duluth and the Northland have been hosted and attended mainly by, but by no means exclusively by, Black residents. Everyone — visitors and tourists alike, from all backgrounds — is invited and encouraged to be at this year’s “Juneteenth Jamboree,” from 3-7 p.m., Thursday, June 19. At the Hillside Community Center, at Lake Avenue and East Fourth Street in Duluth’s Central Hillside neighborhood, there’ll be food, information tables, and lots of family-friendly events, promises its host, the Duluth branch of the NAACP.
We can all go, because, “Juneteenth is like freedom,” as Bernice Pepper
in 2022 while selling T-shirts, artwork, and other goods at a Juneteenth event in Superior, on Barker’s Island. Freedom is for everyone and deserves to be celebrated by everyone.
“We’re here to have fun, to eat food, to celebrate, and all the community is together,” Pepper said. “We have so many people coming together from diverse backgrounds. You’re exchanging information and talking, and you don’t have any sort of preconceived notion for anything. You’re just here enjoying yourself.”
A celebratory mood today stands in stark contrast to the struggles faced by the nearly 4 million newly freed American slaves in 1865, for whom “education was a crucial first step to becoming self-sufficient,” as the
recalls. In response, between 1861 and 1900, more than 90 institutions of higher education were opened specifically for African Americans, who weren’t allowed inside predominantly white schools, due to oppressive segregation laws that would persist, tragically, for generations.
As educator, author, and orator Booker T. Washington said, “If you can’t read, it’s going to be hard to realize dreams.”
The dream of establishing Juneteenth as a national holiday, despite its significance, was itself a far-too-long struggle. It wasn’t recognized as a holiday or observance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia until just last year. Texas was the first state to commemorate the date, but not until 1980. Minnesota didn’t recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday until 2023.
While Minnesotans now can “celebrate a more inclusive freedom,” there’s more work to be done to realize equality in the state, as Rep. Ruth Richardson, DFL-Mendota Heights, said at the signing of the bill she authored to designate the holiday.
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“It’s an opportunity … for us to reflect on the fact that there is a promise that was made to us that all are created equal that we are still working to attain,” Richardson said. “As Minnesota remains home to some of the worst disparities for Black people within the nation, … (making Juneteenth an official holiday) is just a step in the right direction.”
Another step is all of us actually celebrating, or at least acknowledging, Juneteenth, whether or not we attend a celebration like the 51st annual one in Duluth this week. Even if you’ve never gone, and no matter what your race and background, Juneteenth is a moment to mark and appreciate that freedom is for everyone.
As a
News Tribune editorial in 2008
concluded, “Wherever the anniversary is noted, participants and others can be reminded: Slavery was everyone’s sin. Its end is a celebration for us all.”
“Our View” editorials in the News Tribune are the opinion of the newspaper as determined by its Editorial Board. Current board members are Publisher Neal Ronquist, Editorial Page Editor Chuck Frederick, and Employee Representative Kris Vereecken.
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