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Juneteenth 2024: Reflections on education, history and memory

At left, from top: Marquis Lupton, Lenwood Sloan, Blanding Watson. At right, from top: Kesha Morant Williams, Marian V. Wilson, Daniel Wubah. In the center is the Juneteenth flag. (Sources: Provided)

Juneteenth, June 19, is a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. It recognizes the day in 1865 when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger of the Union Army arrived in Galveston, Texas, and proclaimed that “all slaves are free,” in keeping with President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.

One United Lancaster asked several local community leaders and educators to reflect on the meaning of Juneteenth, particularly the ways that history, historical education and individual memory interact to shape its resonance. Click each link below to read their essays.