Why should Black and White people celebrate the Juneteenth Day Celebration? First of all the Juneteenth Celebration is a national holiday, intended to be celebrated by the entire nation. From the information I have been able to gather the majority of American African people who celebrate Juneteenth Day Celebration do so to honor their African ancestors who fought for and eventually gained their freedom from slavery in the United States. On that day (June 19th, 1865) the ball started rolling toward the official end of slavery in this nation that the Juneteenth Day Celebration is based. Even though the first official celebration of Juneteenth happened one year later, on June 19th, 1866. Since then, and long before Juneteenth became a national holiday American African descendants have celebrated Juneteenth as the end of slavery in this nation, and to honor the African ancestors who fought for, and did not live long enough to experience the freedom American Africans enjoy today.
What reason do non-American African people have to celebrate the Juneteenth Celebration?
There were many white, and other nationalities that were against slavery during the days of slavery and many of them were willing to put their own freedom, their property, and in some cases, their lives on the line in the fight against slavery. And, while many runaway slaves chose to self-emancipate themselves, thousands of other runaway slaves were helped by the clandestine system of escape known as the Underground Railroad. Set up and maintained, in many places, by white people. While June 19th, 1865, was the day that started this nation down the road to freedom for all, the addition of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution, added to the news presented in the reading of General Order No.3 a year earlier, abolishing slavery throughout the entire nation.
Black and White Abolitionists knew they were involved in illegal activity and as a result neither had any misunderstanding about what would happen to them if they were caught helping a runaway slave. As far as the slaveholders and slave merchants were concerned the punishment issued by the slave chaser was usually equal for any white person, or black person caught with someone else's property. So, the news shared in Galveston back in 1865 was enough to give rise to many white abolitionists rejoicing as well. Not only because there was a victory in their fight against slavery, but also, because no longer did white abolitionist need to risk life and limb to participate in the fight against the slaveholders.
Needless to say, that because of the covert operation of the Underground Railroad during the days of slavery, when not all black people were good, and not all white people were bad, few who participated in the Underground Railroad when out of their way to document their exploits. But there was one who did take that chance, the black abolitionist Mr. William Still. Due to a per-chance meeting with a runaway slave on the street that turned out to be his own brother, William Still decided to chronicle the experience of every runaway slave he helped, with the hope of giving each a written repository whereby they might find the necessary information to reunite them with long lost family members, separated by slavery. His hidden written records would become the book titled: The Underground Railroad.
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