In celebration of Juneteenth becoming a federal holiday. I actually support this move. I would had delayed it implementation for one year til 2022. It was unfair to give federal workers a day off with little notice.
What this holiday it celebrates the end of Black American Slavery. Which is a chapter that no type of people should be subject this type of treatment. It was the British who introduced slavery to the American culture with the settlement of Jamestown in Coastal Virginia. This continue in the Southern United States this country even fought a civil war over it from 1861-1865. This was the bloodiest war in American history with blacks fighting on both sides. We even had American presidents who owned slaves but freed them upon their deaths. George Washington freed his slaves on December 14, 1799 at his mansion at Mount Vernon where the current capitol is location in Virginia. Thomas Jefferson freed his slaves at his death on July 4, 1826 at Monticello in the Blue Ridge Mountains area of Virginia. James Monroe help create an American colony called Liberia which was a Republic controlled by free American slaves. He wanted freed slaves to be shipped back their at American taxpayer expense. He insisted that no new slaves were allowed to come from this colony with later became their own republic. In Thomas Jefferson's presidency we even fought a war against the Ottoman Empire over this issue which Liberia became our first colony. Eight presidents owned slaves some even advocated for slave holders rights.
Washington Family
Now to the point of this article it was 1972 that the Marion family had been exposed to black culture with a very young aunt Cecila married my Uncle Harold. He died in 2014 at the age of 86. Their marriage gave me eight awesome cousins.
The Washington Family
Morton Family
In 1980 or 1981 my Aunt Jude married Clifton Morton who everybody in the family called my Uncle Joe. They gave two awesome cousins named Yolanda and Yvonne. He passed away at the age of 59 of cancer in 2011.
Uncle Joe with Yolanda and Yvonne as kids
Uncle Joe with his grandchildren before his death in 2011
As you can see the Marion family has been excited since 1972 to have black culture into the family.
