Headline Roundup • June 19th, 2020

Perspectives: Juneteenth 2020

Civil Rights,Slavery,History,American Heritage,Juneteenth,Holidays,Race And Racism

Summary from the AllSides News Team

Friday, June 19 is the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth, the date symbolizing the final emancipation of enslaved persons after the Civil War. This year's commemoration comes as the U.S. wrestles with racial tension, civil unrest and violent demonstrations after the death of George Floyd in police custody. Voices from left to right and throughout the political spectrum focused on the day's importance to the black community, with many expressing hope that the commemoration could help unite a seemingly split nation. Some activists, pundits and politicians are advocating for Juneteenth to become a national holiday.

Featured Coverage of this Story

What is Juneteenth?

The Hill

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The Hill

Analysis

Friday marks the 55th anniversary of Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the abolishment of slavery that takes place every year on June 19.

The date refers not to the end of legal slavery in the United States but to the gap in time before everyone heard the news.

“It’s actually an important event, an important time. But nobody had ever heard of it,” President Trump said of Juneteenth this week in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

Many schools don’t teach the history of Juneteenth and it is not recognized...

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Juneteenth and Modern-Day Slavery

Townhall

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Opinion

Juneteenth should be a reminder to never see any group of humans as non-persons. It never works out well for the ones victimized by such evil arrogance. This holiday commemorates the eventual announcement to slaves in Texas, on June 19th 1865, that President Abraham Lincoln had set them free. The Emancipation Proclamation was issued over two years prior on January 1st, 1863. Isn’t this how truth works sometimes? It has to get over so many obstacles to finally be heard and bring the freedom that is its very nature.

Although...

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Why Juneteenth Matters

New York Times (Opinion)

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Opinion

Neither Abraham Lincoln nor the Republican Party freed the slaves. They helped set freedom in motion and eventually codified it into law with the 13th Amendment, but they were not themselves responsible for the end of slavery. They were not the ones who brought about its final destruction.

Who freed the slaves? The slaves freed the slaves.

“Slave resistance,” as the historian Manisha Sinha points out in “The Slave’s Cause: A History of Abolition,” “lay at the heart of the abolition movement.”

“Prominent slave revolts marked the turn toward immediate...

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