“But why June 19th?” asked an acquaintance after Juneteenth was recognized as a national holiday four years ago. He wasn’t questioning why we would celebrate the ending of slavery in America—he wondered about the date itself. “Why not celebrate the date Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation? (January 1, 1863) or the date the 13th Amendment was ratified? (December 6, 1865) June 19th sounds made-up to me.”
