Juneteenth 2021: How Arlington Marks The End Of Slavery

ARLINGTON, VA — As efforts to make Juneteenth a national holiday continue, people in Arlington are having a celebration/celebrations of their own. Juneteenth, held annually on June 19, celebrates the end of slavery in the United States and the date many slaves in Texas finally found out they were free.

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States, according to Juneteenth.com. It is “a day, a week, and in some areas a month marked with celebrations, guest speakers, picnics and family gatherings.” In recent years, Juneteenth “commemorates African-American freedom and emphasizes education and achievement.”

President Joe Biden signed into law the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act on Thursday. "I hope this is the beginning of a change in the way we deal with one another," he said.

With the signing, Juneteenth has become the 12th federal holiday. The House voted 415-14 on Wednesday to send the bill to Biden. The Senate had already approved the bill unanimously.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the human resources office for the federal government, tweeted Thursday that most federal employees will observe the new holiday — Juneteenth National Independence Day — on Friday since June 19 falls on a Saturday this year.

On Thursday, the Arlington Black Employees Council hosted the 2021 Juneteenth Peace Rally, offering a slate of speakers and performs. The event can be viewed on Facebook or YouTube.

To celebrate Juneteenth, residents are invited to ring Bluemont's bell at the Constitution Garden Park at 12 p.m., on Saturday. Everyone in attendance will have a chance to ring the bell, which is located at the corner of N. George Mason Drive and Wilson Boulevard.

All Arlington County government offices will be operating on modified schedules on Friday. The following programs and services will be closed:

• Circuit, General, and Juvenile & Domestic Relations courts
• DMV & DMV Select offices
• Libraries: Closed on Friday and Saturday.
• Parks & Recreation Facilities and Programs: Closed on Friday and Saturday, but Classes/Leagues and Parks and Outdoor amenities will be open with restrictions.
• Parking: Metered parking will not be enforced.
• Permitting and Inspection Services
• Public Schools
• Sheriff's Office
• Treasurer's Office

Arlington Human Services offices are open on Friday.

Trash, recycling, and yard waste curbside routes will follow a normal schedule on Friday and special collections of brush, metal, and E-waste will also operate as normal. There will be no mulch deliver on Friday and the Customer Contact Center will also be closed, along with the Household Hazards/Electronics Drop-off Facility and the Earth Products Drop-off Yard.

Juneteenth is held on June 19 because that was the date in 1865 when Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce that the Civil War had ended and all slaves were free. Many of the slaves in Texas had not known of President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which had actually given them freedom more than two years earlier.

ART will provide regular service on Friday, but the ART customer call center will be closed. The STAR Call Center will also be closed on Friday and trips for Friday-Monday need to be booked by Thursday.

Granger read “General Order No. 3,” which stated, “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves,” according to the city of Galveston, which has an historical marker for its connection to the holiday.

Henry Louis Gates Jr., a Harvard University professor and African American historian, wrote in The Root magazine that Juneteenth is “an occasion for gathering lost family members, measuring progress against freedom and inculcating rising generations with the values of self-importance and racial uplift.”

Most states have Juneteenth listed as an official holiday. In 1980, Texas became the first state to designate Juneteenth as a holiday. In the time since, 45 other states have decided to officially recognize the day, according to The New York Times.

Juneteenth celebrations have occurred in most states, according to Juneteenth.com. A number of cities and towns held events and parades for the 150th anniversary in 2015.

Also On Patch: What Is Juneteenth? 5 Things To Know About The Holiday That Marks The End Of Slavery

More and more places, such as Anne Arundel County, Maryland, are recognizing Juneteenth as an official holiday. County offices will be closed on Friday, June 18, in observance of the Saturday holiday this year, and Annapolis will host Maryland’s first Juneteenth festival with a parade through the state capital.

"Celebrating Juneteenth as an official county holiday demonstrates our county's true commitment to freedom and equality — for all," Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman said in a statement. "The growing national push for observance of Juneteenth is an important step as we move forward toward justice for this community, in light of centuries of racism, discrimination, and inequity."

Some major American brands — Twitter, Nike and the National Football League, included — have made Juneteenth a paid company holiday.