United States · federal
June 19 — the day the news of freedom finally reached Galveston, in 1865.
2026: June 19, 2026 · 2027: June 19, 2027
The Emancipation Proclamation took effect on 1 January 1863, but it could only be enforced where Union troops reached. On 19 June 1865, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and read General Order No. 3: the enslaved people of Texas were free. They had been free in law for two and a half years and had not been told. Texans have marked the day ever since; it became a federal holiday in 2021.
It is a holiday about the gap between a thing being true and a thing being known. That is a big idea for a child, and an easy one: how long did it take for the good news to get there, and who kept it?
What a family can actually do
Red food and drink are traditional. Read General Order No. 3 — it is five sentences long.
“Dreams” by The Compendium Company, LLC