Freedom Day commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S.In the 19th century, letters and communications took weeks, months or even years to reach their destination. This process was further delayed in the absence of infrastructure such as roads or due to wars. Many of these urgent notices involved life or death, slavery or freedom. Such was the case in the United States. As the third year of the American Civil War (1861-1865) approached, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, decreeing that all persons held as slaves would henceforth be free. The document changed the legal status of nearly three and a half million slaves living in the United States. But many of them did not find out about it until two years later.
On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived at Galveston Bay, Texas with good news for the slaves, they were free: "The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a Proclamation of the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This implies absolute equality of rights and property among the former masters." Since then the event was commemorated locally on June 19 and named "Juneteenth Independence Day". Some call it the country's second independence.
After the end of the American Civil War, at the beginning of the Reconstruction Era (1863-1877) Juneteenth began to be celebrated locally in Texas. The commemoration was a solemn and celebratory event, during which prayers were said, the text of Lincoln's proclamation was read, and hymns of the African American community were sung, including James Weldon Johnson's poem "Lift Every Voice," created in 1900, which would become known as the "Negro National Anthem."
Over the years these Juneteenth celebrations were enriched with other activities, such as Sunday sermons in Protestant churches, conferences and parades through the streets of the city. The avenues were also enriched with African-American dishes. However, during the years of the "Jim Crow" era (racial segregation laws between 1876 and 1965), the Juneteenth holiday became marginalized, but acquired a commercial tone. It was not until 1979 when Texas adopted it as a state holiday and in 2021 President Joe Biden elevated it to federal holiday status, being along with other days such as Independence Day or Memorial Day, a national holiday.
Contributing to the future
To commemorate Juneteenth, Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, Archbishop of Washington DC, presided at a Mass at Mount Calvary Parish in Forestville, Maryland on June 18, 2023. In his homily, the prelate addressed the significance of Juneteenth for African American Catholics: "People of color in the United States have a propensity to interpret the Word of God as directly related to our life situation. The story of the Exodus, when the Hebrews escaped from Pharaoh is perhaps the most applied biblical analogy in our history."
Gregory pointed out that the Emancipation Proclamation took more than two years to reach Texas and "its implications took considerable time to reach the far reaches of the nation," in part because "not everyone wanted to make known the freedom of those who were formerly enslaved. Drawing a comparison, the cardinal noted that "the Kingdom of Heaven is the land of perfect peace and freedom. Today, even with all the means of communication, the message of the Kingdom has not reached all hearts. The Kingdom is still waiting for us. We are on the way despite the obstacles we face," he said.
The Protestant churches and the Catholic Church in general were the refuge where thousands of African-Americans, first as slaves and then segregated, found a place of solace, coexistence and even educational and work opportunities. Many religious orders dedicated themselves to evangelize and care for this marginalized and discriminated sector of society, among them the Divine Word Missionaries, the Oblate Sisters of Divine Providence, the Sisters of the Holy Family, the Fathers of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Josephites), the Franciscan Servants of Mary, among others. For their part, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the American Baptist Home Mission Society established colleges, universities and seminaries.
These institutions would multiply and soon number more than two hundred. In this way an intellectual tradition was established in African-American society. One example is the Augusta Theological Institute, established in Augusta, Georgia in 1867. It was founded in the basement of a Baptist Church in that city. This was the epitome of the accelerated growth of universities and colleges dedicated to the education of African Americans in various branches of the sciences, social work, medicine and the liberal arts.
Reviewing the past
Slavery has been defined as one of the "original sins" of the nation. Unfortunately many used faith to justify it. Juneteenth is also an opportunity to revisit the past, as Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori noted in a message for the holiday: "158 years after the Emancipation Proclamation came to Texas, the sin of slavery still influences the world in which we live. We are called by God to recognize the harmful influences and create lasting change."
Slave Bible
Some British and American slave-owning colonists used an ill-gotten resource, created in London in 1807. It was the "Slave Bible," an altered "bible" to justify slavery. The document omitted entire sections of the Scripture that could foment rebellion (e.g., Gal 3:28) and included parts that strengthened the colonizing ideas of the British Empire (e.g., Eph 6:5).
According to experts, this document omits about 90% of the Old Testament and 50% of the New Testament. The pamphlet was used in the USA and in the British West Indies: Jamaica, Barbados, Antigua and some Caribbean nations.
The Catholic Church
Although the nascent church in the USA fought slavery by creating educational institutions and centers to serve this sector, some dioceses were part of the collective sin of slavery in the USA. In 2018, the U.S. bishops addressed the issue in a pastoral letter against racism, "Let Us Open Our Hearts. The Unceasing Call to Love." In the document they point out: Examining our sinfulness-individually, as a Christian community, and as a society-is a lesson in humility. It requires us to acknowledge sinful deeds and thoughts, and to ask for forgiveness. To our shame, many American religious leaders, including some Catholic bishops, did not formally oppose slavery; some even owned slaves. We express deep regret and remorse for them."
The phenomenon of slavery at the institutional level in the nascent North American church was not so extensive for several reasons: until before the proclamation of emancipation there were 15 dioceses in the USA (the first was Baltimore), of which 8 were part of the North (of the 13 North American colonies), a region where slavery was not accepted, and 7 of the South. Likewise, until 1848, a large part of the current territory of the geographic south and west coast of the country belonged to New Spain (until 1810) and then to Mexico as an independent nation.
In those territories, native peoples, Indians, had lived for many centuries before, where the slave system did not acquire the same characteristics as the European-American system of trade in Africans. Likewise, slavery of indigenous peoples was not permitted in New Spain. This does not mean that this region was exempt from the phenomenon. In the states of the eastern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, the trade of people brought from Africa was also practiced. Likewise, some indigenous groups in Mesoamerica, when conquering others, subjugated the inhabitants.
In the case of the church in the USA, one of the dioceses where the phenomenon of slavery occurred was Baltimore in Maryland, the first diocese in the nation. Therefore, in May 2023, the Archdiocese announced the creation of a Commission on Slavery. On the occasion of Juneteenth 2023, Archbishop William E. Lori, Archbishop of Baltimore noted, "158 years later, the sin of slavery still greatly influences the world in which we live. We are called by God to recognize these evil influences and to create lasting change for the benefit of all. The Commission on Slavery will oversee a historical study that will prayerfully examine the Archdiocese's connection to slavery. I would ask each of us to continue to understand and address the ways in which racism destroys human dignity, destroys the unity of the human family and rejects the Good News of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Together, as brothers and sisters in Christ, we can strive for true and lasting freedom, freedom from the power of sin that alienates us from God and alienates us from one another."
Black National Anthem
Known as the Negro National Anthem, it was written by James Weldon Johnson in 1900. His brother, John Rosamond Johnson composed the music for the lyrics. It is part of the hymns sung during Juneteenth celebrations and other festivities. It has been performed by Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin, among others.
Lift every voice and sing Till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty. Let our rejoicing rise High as the list'ning skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us; Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, Let us march on 'til victory is won... God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way; Thou who hast by Thy might Led us into the light, Keep us forever in the path, we pray. Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee, Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee; Shadowed beneath Thy hand, May we forever stand. True to our God, True to our native land. The Spanish translation is as follows: Let voices lift up and sing Till heaven and earth resound Resound with harmonies of freedom. Let our joy ascend As high as the listening skies Let it resound as high as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us. Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought to us In front of the rising sun of our new day that begins. Let us march until victory is won. God of our burdened years God of our silent tears Thou, who hast brought us thus far on the way. Thou who by Thy power to the light lead us, Keep us forever on the way, we beseech thee. Lest our feet stray from the places, where we meet with Thee, our God. Lest our hearts, intoxicated with the wine of the world, forget Thee. May we always remain Faithful to our God Faithful to our land of our birth.
