You can please some of the people some of the time
Juneteenth Not a Celebration for All
By PAM EASTON
Associated Press Writer
June 19, 2004, 7:03 AM EDT
HOUSTON -- Twenty-five years ago, Texas made June 19 -- an important date in Civil War history -- a state holiday. Today, some still remain unconvinced the day known as Juneteenth should be officially marked.
Juneteenth marks the day Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston in 1865 to share news of the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves two years earlier on Jan. 1, 1863.
"It is not a real reason to celebrate in my opinion," said former U.S. Rep. Craig Washington, who was a state representative when Juneteenth became an official holiday in 1979.
"It is a celebration (marking) that we were kept ignorant for that time," said Washington, who pushed for Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday to be observed as a state holiday the year Juneteenth was approved.
"King's holiday was the big debate in 1979," said state Sen. Rodney Ellis, who said "somehow" Juneteenth emerged from the debate. "You had some members, even some of the civil rights advocates, who were offended at the notion of people who didn't want to recognize King's birthday all of the sudden deciding that they would support a Juneteenth celebration."
State Rep. Al Edwards was behind the push to designate Juneteenth as a holiday. His bill was passed on June 9, 1979.
"That was one piece of legislation that was tough to get passed," said Edwards, who encountered opposition from fellow black lawmakers. "When we passed the bill, it gave it sophistication. It became something that was done by blacks, whites and browns. It wasn't just a resolution, an observance, but an outright holiday."
