Juneteenth for me is, in some ways, a celebration. But it is best described as a day of family and remembrance mixed with appreciation and respect. Recognition of Juneteenth was ingrained in my upbringing. While Columbus Day and the Fourth of July were clearly well understood when I started my tech career, it surprised me that so many new places I traveled to around the country and the world had never heard of Juneteenth.

Word of Freedom Reaches Texas

Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Texas learned of their freedom. The Emancipation Proclamation declared that “all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states free, but it wasn't until more than two years later that General Gordon Granger and his Union troops rode into Galveston, Texas and informed the town that slavery was over.

It is not surprising that the word of freedom was slow to reach Texas. There was little Union presence and no major Civil War battles fought within the state. As a result, slavery was mostly unaffected in Texas throughout the Civil War. There were roughly a million enslaved people who were pushed from the tobacco-centered south to the cotton-centered south prior to the Civil War. I learned from family Juneteenth celebrations of the experiences my ancestors faced that persisted long after slavery; these experiences and family discussions helped shape my own life experiences.

Paying Tribute to Past Generations

My personal tradition involved my family traveling to the small Texas town where my parents grew up that was still largely segregated by train tracks. Juneteenth events meant so much to the locals on ‘our side’ of the tracks. The African American community arrived in the early morning hours to stake out prime territory to attend parades of trail riders, floats and local leaders followed by concerts and barbecues. As our elders shared stories passed down from generation to generation, talks of days past bore witness to the living history all around us. In talking to people who knew people that were slaves, you came to realize that the slave era wasn’t as distant as it sometimes seems.

In later years, Juneteenth has taken on even more importance for me. When my family began documenting our history and ancestral research led me to my enslaved forebears family lore turned into something much more significant. Many African Americans struggle to go further back than the 1870 census as their ancestors would go unnamed, counting as three-fifths of a person for census value in prior counts. I would come to discover my Texas roots began in the late 1830s with Texas independence from Mexico, allowing for slavery to take a stronger hold. Julien Devereux would bring my maternal great-great-great grandparents Scott (b. 1792) and Tabby (b. 1787) from Georgia to work on the Monte Verdi plantation in Rusk, TX. My paternal side is less certain, but it appears that those Texas roots began when Cornelius (b. 1827) from Tennessee would be brought to Texas by John Crayton in 1839 and settled near the San Marcos river in what is now Martindale, Texas. As slaves did not typically get surnames, mine would come from the town where they were located.

Honoring Juneteenth Today

As my family and I prepare for another Juneteenth with its recent federal recognition, I share these experiences and hope that others may find their own ways, whether large or small, to recognize those enslaved people and the importance of Juneteenth. It is a reminder of the progress made, and how far we still have to go - as a country, and in our workplaces. As I never feel far removed or disconnected from those recent ancestors, in recognizing Juneteenth, its inclusion allows me to feel a more shared history with my colleagues and less isolated as we stand together to honor the day. I encourage my fellow Snowflakes to pause and self-reflect and act in consideration of this holiday, its unique history, and our equitable future.

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