When is our Independence Day?
You thought July 4th, right? Yup. That's right. But historically, on July 4th, only white Americans were free and independent, black slaves were not. The Emancipation Proclamation, which eliminated slavery, didn't come to be until almost 100 years later; and it was two years after that that the end of slavery was actually made known to those who were enslaved.
Crazy huh?
Yeah, I know.
Bit of trivia, if you have an iPhone you probably see "Juneteenth" marked on your calendar as a US Holiday today. It was recently that the company expanded their holiday list to include June 19th, known as Juneteenth.
Back to the point. Juneteenth started in Texas in 1865 when 250,000 enslaved people were liberated and it's truly the actual date when "the land of the free" truly was, in fact, the land of the free.
Many who are familiar with this history and holiday celebrate today like they would on Fourth of July, with BBQs and poolside and the holiday is observed in 45 states plus District of Columbia.
There! That's a brief history lesson on Juneteenth. Go impress your friends who are confused about their calendars!
Oh and also, watch this clip from the show Black-ish. I found it during my research and I can't really tell if it's insulting or funny...