It is time to celebrate! Get out your Pan African flag! Wear your beautiful clothes! But most of all, call all of your family and friends to gather to eat, sing, dance, and rejoice because it is Freedom Day! Freedom Day, Emancipation Day, or Juneteenth is the day that we celebrate the emancipation of enslaved Africans in the United States of America. It has been celebrated on June 19th of every calendar year since June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas and announced that slavery had been abolished. In reality, slavery had been abolished two years when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. However, it took time for soldiers to travel and share the news. When the newly freed people finally heard that they were free, they gathered to sing, dance, pray, and break bread together. For this reason, all Americans can commemorate June 19th by celebrating the freedoms won and by also engaging in activism to ensure that all of our freedoms are protected and expanded.This activity book contains the history of Juneteenth as well as vocabulary words, essay questions, coloring pages, and other fun exercises that will allow users to deeply reflect on this important American holiday.
