FRIDAYYYY Juneteenth Links and Banter

Happy Friday, all. To the folks on the Federal and/or banking calendars (including myself), enjoy the day off! For the folks that are still working and popping onto this post, let's take a small moment to celebrate Juneteenth.

Juneteenth is the start of what could be and what should be a nation-wide, 15 day-long celebration of our country and of the slow, painful, halting progress in which this nation has inched towards its promise of universal freedom and liberty, bar none.

It begins today. It continues on July 2nd, which will be the 62nd year since the signing of the Civil Rights Act, which guaranteed equal rights and opportunities for all, regardless of race, religion, sex, or place of origin. The two-week celebration crescendos towards July 4th, in which we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation's freedom and the enactment of our founding document, and more importantly, the words and ideals in that document in which we still strive towards.

Today marks the 161st anniversary of the arrival of the Union army to Galveston, Texas, and the announcement and enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation to the enslaved people there. Word traveled slowly. The Confederacy had surrendered months earlier. Lincoln had been killed; the war had been won. And yet, Galveston was one of the last vestiges of the South in which enslaved peoples had not been freed. The Union army arrived to announce the news, but more importantly, to enforce the news.

The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves.

Today, we celebrate that remarkable moment, one of joy and jubilation. We also recognize the goal that millions have endured and struggled towards over the 161 years since, a process that continues to this day: that in this country, all are created equal and all shall be free.

Happy Juneteenth, everyone.