Juneteenth

Juneteenth is a state holiday which Connecticut celebrates in commemoration of the end of chattel slavery in the United States. The history of this holiday is important for all of us to understand.

On June 19, 1865, Union troops entered Galveston Bay, Texas, and announced to the 250,000 enslaved residents that they had been liberated by the Emancipation Proclamation.  Although it was two and a half years since President Abraham Lincoln had decreed freedom for all enslaved people held in the South, this date when the news finally reached the western-most state in the Confederacy, became known “Juneteenth” and has been celebrated by the African American community as a “second independence day” ever since.   The date is symbolic, coming between the official enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation and the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution, which outlawed slavery nationally, on December 6, 1865.   Even so, Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day, Juneteenth Independence Day, or Black Independence Day, has come to represent the triumph of the African American community over the crime of slavery and the long, ongoing struggle for real freedom in the United States.  

 Community-based celebrations of Juneteenth began as early as 1866, when free black communities marked the day with cookouts, speeches, music, parades and prayers. Statewide governmental recognition only came beginning in 1980, when Texas adopted the holiday.  Since then, most states have observed the holiday in some form.   

In Mansfield we have  Witness Ston in front of the Library. The stones honor Titus,  an enslaved person who fought in the Revolution, and his parents Pegg and Tobias.  We continue to celebrate Juneteenth in recognition of the end of   the degrading and painful institution of chattel slavery as part of our continuing pursuit of justice and equity.

 https://nmaahc.si.edu/blog-post/historical-legacy-juneteenth               https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44865.pdf 

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Mansfield adopted Juneteenth, June 19, as an official holiday in spring of 2021.  The Mansfield Human Rights Commission was instrumental in advocating for this holiday.

Read the Proclamation adopted by the Mansfield Town Council.  

With the goal of educating the public about Juneteenth, The Human Rights Commission  has published a poster each year that features the artwork of a Mansfield Middle School student teaching about Juneteenth, and featuring regional activities.  The artwork is often created as part of the Witness Stone Project , part of Grade 8 curriculum in Mansfield. 

 The HRC encourages all Mansfield residents to visit the Witness Stone for Titus and his parents, enslaved people who lived in Mansfield in the 1700s.  These Witness Stones are outside of the Mansfield Public Library