Where Are We in the Stride Toward Racial Freedom in America?Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day Union soldiers arrived in Galveston at the end of the Civil War, to bring the news of freedom to enslaved
Black people in Texas, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth was made a federal holiday only last year but many African American communities in Texas have long celebrated Juneteenth as a day of freedom. Many of us who know the history of America realize that racial freedom was not achieved with the end of slavery. Our nation continues to face challenges today in pursuing racial justice and equality. For our upcoming Juneteenth service several members of our church and community of African American heritage have been invited to share their reflections on the challenges that still exist in what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called “the stride toward freedom”.