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 January 1, 1863, but it could only be enforced where Union troops reached. On June 19, 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.
Free, always
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