In celebration of the Juneteenth holiday, Small Business Development Corporation of Orange County will close at 12 noon on Thursday, June 18 and remained closed through Friday, June 19.
June 19, known by many as the nation’s second Independence Day, commemorates the freedom of 250,000 enslaved African Americans in Texas who remained slaves for two years after the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. This pivotal act set free enslaved peoples in Confederate states, but did not immediately affect all enslaved individuals in Confederate territories. Those in Texas, many of whom were unaware of the Emancipation Proclamation’s passage, were finally freed on June 19, 1865 under executive decree, their freedom enforced by 2,000 Union troops. To learn more about this significant moment in U.S. history, click here.
When all enslaved peoples finally were given freedom on June 19, celebrations ensued and the historic moment came to be known as Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, and by other names. Juneteenth represents the perseverance and determination of the human spirit and the undying hope in a future free from oppression.
