As I said in my OP, it is entirely appropriate to create a state holiday celebrating emancipation. As I also said, Emancipation Day has been celebrated in Virginia since the Civil War, and never on June 19.

I imagine a conversation like this between a teacher and a student:

Teacher: Remember kids, there is no school tomorrow, because we're celebrating Juneteenth.
Student: What is Juneteenth?
T: It is the day we celebrate the emancipation of the slaves.
S: Why is it called Juneteenth?
T: Because the day is June 19 but the freed slaves didn't know what calendar days were or how to say "nineteenth."
S: (squirming) OK... So the slaves were emancipated on June 19?
T: No. Emancipation was much earlier than that.
S: So why are we celebrating it on June 19?
T: Because that is the date a general in Texas issued a proclamation.
S: What did it say?
T: It advised that all the slaves had been emancipated and that they were to stay where they were, keep working (for wages), and not to come around loafing and expecting to be taken care of.
S: (squirming) OK.... So when were the slaves in Virginia emancipated?
T: De jure, mostly on January 1, 1863. De facto, as late as mid-April 1865.
S: (precocious enough to understand that) So why don't we celebrate on a date relevant to actual emancipation in Virginia?
T: Look kid, just remember not to come to school tomorrow. Class dismissed.

We're missing a chance to choose a date that can help teach the actual history. "Juneteenth" has no relevance to emancipation in Virginia and the name, like the proclamation it celebrates, is patronizing and offensive (or at least it seems to me it ought to be).

I don't see how this is comparable in any way to Christmas or Memorial Day. By the time Christmas became a government holiday in the 19th century it had been celebrated as a religious holiday on that date for centuries. Likewise Memorial Day had been celebrated (as Decoration Day) on May 30 since the end of the Civil War. By contrast, Emancipation Day in Virginia has never been celebrated on June 19.

Just my two cents worth.















[Post edited by Joey Wahoo at 06/11/2021 7:06PM]