Military + Juneteenth

The Army’s Role in Race Relations Skyrocketed with Juneteenth

A Reflection on Genuineness vs. Perception in the Utilization of Military Force For Civil and Human Rights

Von Wright
AfroSapiophile
Published in
8 min readJun 25, 2023

--

Union Soldiers in line prepared for battle
Photo by Chris Chow on Unsplash

The Army played a role in the Juneteenth holiday, and that is without a doubt. Upon General Gordon Granger’s assumption of command of the Department of Texas on June 10, 1865, he immediately declared that the institution of slavery was dead, just nine days later, on June 19th, upon his arrival to Galveston, Texas. That’s a historical event that changed how we live today. Though the Army stood on the right side of history, it would be very disingenuous to say that it was done genuinely with the U.S. government and its leaders providing full support. When you start to peel the onion back and read the fine print, you will notice that the slaves were freed by Granger in Texas, but under austere conditions and stipulations. This is the case everywhere, but let’s focus on the Army’s role in this instance in particular. In a nutshell, Granger rode throughout Texas with his decree and counseled the newly freed slaves with these major points:

  • Don’t expect welfare assistance
  • Seek employment, in fact, strike a deal with your old master for a wage

--

--

AfroSapiophile
AfroSapiophile

Published in AfroSapiophile

AfroSapiophile is a hub for critical thinking and analysis pertaining to civil rights, human rights, systemic racism and sexism across politics, entertainment, and history.

Von Wright
Von Wright

Written by Von Wright

Public Affairs. Public Relations. Freelancer. Lover of books and great journalism. Contributor to #WEOC. I write about Relationships, Family, and Race Relations