Hopkinsville Mayor Wendell Lynch and Christian County Judge Executive Steve Tribble today signed a proclamation recognizing June 19 as Juneteenth Day in Hopkinsville and Christian County.
The historic holiday marks the day in 1865 when Gen. Gordon Granger and thousands of federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce the Civil War had ended and to ensure all slaves be freed.
Although President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years earlier on Jan. 1, 1863, declaring all slaves shall be free, the proclamation was ignored by Confederate states and was not enforced in the South until the end of the war.
While there have long been calls to institute Juneteenth as a federal holiday, the movement has taken on renewed significance in the wake of the killing of 46-year-old George Floyd by Minneapolis police on May 25.
On Thursday, Gov. Andy Beshear ceremonially signed a proclamation recognizing June 19 as Juneteenth National Day of Freedom in the Commonwealth and committed to asking the legislature to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday. The legislature would have to pass the measure during the next general assembly.
Julia Hunter is the engagement editor for Hoptown Chronicle. Reach her at julia@hoptownchronicle.org.
