All Access Will Be Closed On Monday In Observance Of Juneteenth
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ALL ACCESS offices will be closed on MONDAY, JUNE 19th, as we honor the JUNETEENTH federal holiday. JUNETEENTH has been an annual commemoration across various parts of the U.S. since 1865. Our normal business hours will resume on TUESDAY morning, JUNE 20th. If you have any NET NEWS to share, click here.CONGRESS officially passed legislation on JUNE 16th, 2021, to establish the holiday. The very next day, Pres. JOE BIDEN signed the JUNETEENTH NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE DAY ACT into law. The renewed focus on acknowledging this day gained momentum during the summer of 2020 amidst nationwide protests over the police killings of African Americans GEORGE FLOYD and BREONNA TAYLOR. JUNETEENTH stands as the oldest documented celebration recognizing the abolition of slavery.Nationwide, Black communities have always known about JUNETEENTH and used the time to honor Black culture, acknowledge achievements, and look towards a hopeful future. This observance is also commonly referred to as FREEDOM DAY, JUBILEE DAY, or EMANCIPATION DAY.”The History The JUNETEENTH name originates from the date JUNE 19th, 1865, when enslaved Africans in GALVESTON TEXAS learned about their newfound freedom. This announcement came 2½ years later after Pres. LINCOLN had already signed the EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION on JAN. 1st, 1863, which granted freedom to slaves in the Southern slave-holding states of SOUTH CAROLINA, MISSISSIPPI, FLORIDA, ALABAMA, GEORGIA, LOUISIANA, TEXAS, VIRGINIA, ARKANSAS, and NORTH CAROLINA.The PROCLAMATION didn’t apply to the slave states of DELAWARE, MARYLAND, KENTUCKY, and MISSOURI. They all fought on the side of the UNION during the CIVIL WAR. LINCOLN acknowledged that the EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION had to be followed by a constitutional amendment to guarantee the abolishment of slavery.During that period, enslaved Africans or people of African descent in America didn’t have citizenship status. They were not African Americans or Americans, they were Africans. The 13th Amendment, ratified DECEMBER 6th, 1865, ended slavery in the UNITED STATES, not JUNETEENTH. It was the 14th Amendment, ratified JULY 9th, 1868, that granted citizenship to the former enslaved Africans and their future descendants living in the U. S.For more information on the history of JUNETEENTH, click here.
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