How old were you when you first learned about Juneteenth? Is today the first time you’re hearing about it? Perhaps you were in graduate school? Chances are that if you don’t celebrate Juneteenth, you didn’t learn about it in history class. At all. Juneteenth is an independence day celebration and a celebration of Blackness. It is celebrated on June 19th- in fact, its name is a combination of June and nineteenth to make “Juneteenth!” In 1865, after the end of the Civil War, enslaved Texans in Galveston were given the message that slavery was over– two years after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox courthouse and two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by Lincoln. Union Major General George Granger delivered the news to whom we think were the last enslaved people to learn about freedom. Granger read aloud General Order #3 which stated, “personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves.” It is no secret that “absolute equality” is still something our Black brothers and sisters fight for, a fight that we all need to whole-heartedly join. However, the end of legal slavery was and is cause for celebration.

There are some facts that I’d like to call to your attention, though. Many believe that the Emancipation Proclamation abolished slavery. In fact, this was not the case. The words of the Emancipation Proclamation emancipated the enslaved in states in which “the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States.” There were states that remained in the Union that still had legalized slavery. Delaware is one example. The 13th Amendment, passed January 31, 1865 and ratified in December of that same year ended slavery (except in cases of punishment for a crime, which is another blog post). There were still enslaved people in Delaware up until that amendment was ratified. Another important idea to note is that absolutely no enslaved human being willfully accepted slavery. Through both active and passive resistance and self emancipation, enslaved Black Americans protested their bondage. Even after emancipation, there were and are still hurdles to absolute equality. To quote tolerance.org, “Racism takes the shape of whatever will hold it.” With each victory over racism, there’s more to conquer– even within ourselves. As a person who is not a Black American, Juneteenth is a time for me to reflect on my own bias and find ways to conquer what’s in my own heart as well as to find ways to be active in the world around me. Today I hosted my first episode of “History in the Kitchen”- you can catch it live at www.facebook.com/teachinghistoryherway/live on Fridays during the summer of 2020. Juneteenth is celebrated with barbecues, an homage to the way the enslaved had to cook over open charcoal fires. People tell stories, pray, and dress up. In past celebrations, the enslaved shed their rags given to them by their enslavers and wore clothes that matched their human worth. Today during History in the Kitchen we made strawberry pie because red foods are a significant part of Juneteenth celebrations. Red is symbolic of ingenuity, resilience, and the blood shed for freedom. The recipe is below for you to enjoy:

Strawberry Pie

Ingredients:

• 2lbs fresh strawberries
• 2/3 c sugar
• 3 tbsp corn starch
• 1 tbsp water
• half a fresh lime (or 2 tbsp lime juice)
• Pre-made pie crust (because I cheat at pie crust)

Instructions:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Roll pie crust into pie plate and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Use a pie weight to keep the crust from bubbling. If you don’t have a pie weight, put foil on the crust and fill with dry beans or rice.
• While the crust is baking, hull the strawberries. Measure out 1.5 cups and reserve the rest.
• Put 1.5 cups of strawberries in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat and crush the berries as they cook. Once they’re all crushed, add the sugar and stir. Then add water. Finally, add corn starch. DON’T FORGET TO TAKE THE CRUST OUT OF THE OVEN!
• Stir the mixture until thickened. You may have to turn up the heat. Be sure to keep stirring so it doesn’t burn! You’ll know it is finished when it looks like jam.
• Fold the uncooked berries into the jam.
• Add the strawberry mixture to the pie crust. Eat when cool. Yum!

Sources: tolerance.org, galvestonhistory.org, latimes.com Recipe adapted from Wollf’s Apple House