Juneteenth is a portmanteau of June and nineteenth. It is the celebration of a pivotal date in Black American history.
Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, with an effective date of January 1, 1863. The proclamation had minimal effect on most slaves’ day-to-day lives. Juneteenth commemorates June 19th as the day Union General Gordon Granger with 2,000 federal troops arrived in Galveston Texas to take possession of the state and enforce the emancipation of its slaves.
This year Juneteenth falls squarely on Sunday and The Goddess Lakshmi will be celebrating with the traditional enunciation of the Emancipation Proclamation… set to a hip-hop beat. Rappers and spoken word artists are invited to take the mic.
