"If slavery isn't wrong, then nothing is wrong."
-Abraham Lincoln
On most calendars, today marks June 19th, just an average lukewarm Wednesday. However, that very paper on the wall -- if you still use it to this day and age -- lacks a certain reminder, an important one. In fact, June nineteenth, or "Juneteenth" for short, is the day that commemorates the end to a 7,000 old tradition that has caused an insurmountable amount of people and loving families to experience the unfairness and brutality of the natural man... slavery.
In commemoration of this important day that is celebrated worldwide, it would be fitting to know the history and sacrifices made to finally dry the wells of blood and tears that were replenished for centuries.
Keep in mind, the concept of slavery was never "invented" by the white man within the past 5 centuries. It did not start in 1619 when the first African slaves came to Jamestown in North America. It did not start when the Spanish conquistadors established a colonial government in Cebu, Philippines in 1565. It did not start in 1492 when Columbus discovered the "New world" as he landed in the Bahamas.
Slavery has already lingered around the world far longer than one can initially imagine. During the Roman empire, slavery had already existed as they conquered the Mediterranean sea along with most of Europe. In the 4th century B.C., slavery was long seen as natural when Alexander the Great conquered Persia. Even as far as 5,000 B.C. exists records of practicing slavery in ancient Egypt. Slavery has persisted all throughout the world in history, be it in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and more.
In the case of the United States, it would take more than 6000 years before the first president to ever openly declare the injustice and need to end slavery.
It was in the year 1860 when a remarkable man, President Abraham Lincoln, took office. By this time, 4 million people were either constantly shackled or living life as livestock meant to work tirelessly and seamlessly with no regard to the sanctity of their lives.
As Lincoln preached his ideals of forsaking the act of slavery, many of the southern states in the US withdrew from the American Union and vowed to uphold slavery, leading to formation of the Confederacy, marking the day where land meets blood, the American Civil War.
About 3 years later under his term, the new year would definitely usher in a significant change amidst the Civil war. On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free."
However, a mighty change does not happen overnight, especially if concerned with a practice that has survived more than 6 millennia and with a Confederacy in resistance.
The war would rage on for the next two years, and on January 31st of 1865, the US congress passed the 13th amendment, leading to a promise to finally wipe out slavery from the face of the Americas.
Finally, on April 9th of the same year, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered, marking the end of the Civil war.
With the war finally on amends, slavery had still persisted throughout the lands.
It would be on June 19th of 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger marched his troops into Galveston, Texas, declaring the long-deserved freedom of more than 250,000 slaves, ending the final bastion of that ill-natured practice in the US.
At that time, who would have known that slavery, being intertwined with humanity's history, would finally be brought to an end? This level of skepticism would still serve as a wise move, however.
To say that it marked the end of slavery cannot, in good conscience, be absolute.
Even to this day, slavery appears to have taken some other forms. There still exists racial inequality, oppression, and terror. These indiscriminately plague the lives of many regardless of race, gender, religion, and many more categorical titles.
Even 5 score years after the emancipation declaration, there was still a need for key figures to fight and inspire the masses of the importance of equality, such being the likes of Martin Luther King Jr. who has given and inspired countless hearts with his dream that one day our descendants "would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Let us not just remember "Juneteenth" as the end of slavery, but rather as the constant echoes of what we need to be. An individual who seeks understanding and not judgement; an individual who wishes for peace and not contention; an individual who fights for what is right and not for selfish gain; an individual who lives to see the sun shine brighter than yesterday. Let us all not forget the reason for why we live, before it becomes the blame, may we all mark this day on our calendars on the wall -- or on the phone -- and may we enjoy true independence.
Happy Juneteenth, everyone!