Negro Independence Day (June 19th)

“Black Independence Day” (formerly called “Negro Independence Day”) is June 19th, also called “Juneteenth”. Other names for this day are Emancipation Day,” “Freedom Day” and “Jubilee Day.” The day celebrates the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas on June 19, 1865, at the end of the American Civil War.
 
“Yesterday was the freedman’s day of jubilee, the day which former slaves and the descendants have celebrated as the negro independence day every year since Lincoln proclaimed them free in 1863” was printed in the Houston (TX) Daily Post on June 20, 1902. “The barbecue is to commemorate the negro independence day, June 19” was printed in the Galveston (TX) Daily News on June 18, 1911. “The day was negro independence day” was printed in The Sunday Enterprise (Beaumont, TX) on June 20, 1920.
 
“One of the first activities of the PUC was the celebration of Black Independence Day on June 19” was printed in the Abilene (TX) Reporter-News on July 18, 1971. “Persons interested in celebrating June 19 at ‘Black Independence Day’” was printed in the Waco (TX) Tribune-Herald on May 9, 1976. “This year Channel 13 celebrates Juneteenth, the annual commemoration of Black Independence Day” was printed in the Mesquite (TX) Daily News on June 18, 1980.
 
The term “Negro Independence Day” is no longer used today, and the term “Black Independence Day” is infrequently used.

 
Wikipedia: Juneteenth
Juneteenth, officially Juneteenth National Independence Day, is a federal holiday in the United States. It is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. The holiday’s name, first used in the 1890s, is a portmanteau of June and nineteenth, referring to June 19, 1865, the day when Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War.
(...)
Also called
Jubilee Day
Emancipation Day (Texas)
Freedom Day
Black Independence Day
 
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20 June 1902, Houston (TX) Daily Post, “Elaborate Celebration,” pg. 6, col. 1:
Yesterday was the freedman’s day of jubilee, the day which former slaves and the descendants have celebrated as the negro independence day every year since Lincoln proclaimed them free in 1863.
 
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18 June 1911, Galveston (TX) Daily News, “Prepare for June 19,” pg. 14, col. 7:
The barbecue is to commemorate the negro independence day, June 19, ...
 
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20 June 1920, The Sunday Enterprise (Beaumont, TX), “Weirgate 19th Is Happy Event,” pg. 11, col. 1:
The day was negro independence day.
 
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19 June 1934, Beaumont (TX) Journal, pg. 6, col. 1 ad:
Enjoy Our Special
75c SUPPER
While Your Cook’s
Celebrating
Negro Independence Day
(Hotel Beaumont, Black Cat Cafe ad.—ed.)
 
The Portal to Texas History
18 July 1971, Abilene (TX) Reporter-News, “People’s United Council Formed for Peace, Unity” by Ruth Fowler, pg. 5-B, col. 2:
One of the first activities of the PUC was the celebration of Black Independence Day on June 19 in Stevenson Park.
 
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9 May 1976, Waco (TX) Tribune-Herald, “Bledsoe-Miller Schedules Free Skating,” pg. 2D, col. 3:
Persons interested in celebrating June 19 at “Black Independence Day” should contact Ronald Allen at the center.
 
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18 June 1980, Mesquite (TX) Daily News, “Channel 13 to celebrate Juneteenth,” pg. 3, col. 1:
This year Channel 13 celebrates Juneteenth, the annual commemoration of Black Independence Day in Texas, with a variety of movie favorites, musical programs and special editions of several series.
 
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3 June 1984, Midland (TX) Reporter-Telegram, “Letters,” pg. 9B, col. 5:
... Juneteenth (June 19th, Black Independence Day).
(Letter by Arthur Pertile III of Midland.—ed.)