ARTICLE CONTINUATION JUNETEENTH:

Continued from cover

“I didn't start to look into celebrating it until being surrounded by the excellence at Hampton. As I've gotten older, and further into my teaching career, I have been more intentional with my celebration and understanding of Juneteenth. I am now sure to educate others on its significance,” he said.

Clark is not alone in his experience. For many Americans — including some Black Americans — Juneteenth was not celebrated in their families or taught in schools. It wasn’t until activists and historians led grassroots movements for decades that the holiday became more widely recognized.

While Clark says he is happy to celebrate Juneteenth with his family and to see the holiday gain national recognition, he doesn’t want it to turn into a commercialized event like other cultural holidays.

“We should always remember that the reason for the holiday is that our ancestors were set free — two years after they should have already been free. And then the years that followed were still filled with violence, hatred and bigotry towards us.”

History of Juneteenth

Juneteenth marks the anniversary of June 19th, 1865, when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, were notified by Union soldiers that they were free under the Emancipation Proclamation.