On June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger announced the end of slavery in Galveston, Texas. In fact, slavery in Texas had been officially ended two years earlier by President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, which outlawed slavery in the Confederate States. Those, like Texas, which were still under Confederate control, did not see the order enforced for a couple more years. And it was not until the passage and ratification of the 13th Amendment in December, 1865, that slavery ended in all the states of the Union. Still, June 19th became the most widely recognized Emancipation Day, or Juneteenth.
A century and a half later, President Biden declared Juneteenth a national holiday. Yet there are many Americans who still don’t know what the day is about.
What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom, particularly a celebration of the end of legal slavery in the United States. It can be celebrated as Independence Day is, with a paid day off for workers and an appreciation of the freedom we in America now have.
But there are other steps manufacturers might choose to take to celebrate Juneteenth:
- Examine your hiring practices to make sure that Black Americans are treated fairly.
- Scrutinize your supply chain to make sure that forced labor is no part of your supply chain, upstream or downstream.
- Recognize the contributions of Black Americans to your industry or your company.
- Donate to community-based organizations working for equity in your city.
- Hold diversity and inclusion training workshops.
Harvard Business Review shares more ideas of ways organizations can honor Juneteenth.
On Juneteenth and every day, if you need service or support for your Rexroth electric industrial motion control systems, we are just a phone call away. Call (479) 422-0390 for immediate assistance.