Today is Juneteenth. On this day in 1865 in Galveston Texas, Union Army General Gordon Granger read “General Order No. 3” from the top deck of Ashton Villa.

It had been two years since Lincoln had given the Emancipation Proclamation, and this was the first the slave population was hearing of their freedom. General Granger had arrived with 2000 troops to enforce the freeing of all the slaves. The beginning of his speech went like this: “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…”

Of course, equality for slaves wasn’t as easy as the General Order No. 3 would make it sound, but that first Juneteenth was nonetheless was celebrated with dancing in the streets. 

Juneteenth would be celebrated in following years by freed slaves primarily in Texas. As the original 250000 former Texas slaves passed on the celebration to their family members and migrated to different states, they took with them traditions of Juneteenth Independence Day. The Civil Rights Movement helped to spread the celebration of the day as well. 

In 1980 Texas made Juneteenth an official state holiday. 43 out of the 50 United States have followed in a similar vein, recognizing the day as a state holiday or day of observance, and there are a handful of organizations campaigning to make Juneteenth a national holiday.

Just as a side note before I continue: traveling through South American has made me realize how little we study the continent, its countries and its history. So today we’re looking at a national icon of Uruguay. 

Today is the birthday of José Gervasio Artigas, a military man and hero of Uruguayan independence. 

He was born in Montevideo, the capital of what is now Uruguay, in 1764 to Spanish descended parents. His mother came from a wealthy family, but his father knew what it was like to pull yourself up by the bootstraps. As such, José had a strong respect for the working poor. 

Also from his father, José inherited a strong sense of independence. His parents enrolled him in Colegio de San Bernardino to study religion in anticipation of a career in the Church, but José quickly rebelled against the school’s strict disciplinary policies. He left school at the age of 12 and went to work on a family farm. He encountered and worked with expert horsemen and livestock drivers, called gauchos, as well as South American natives. He was impressed by the work ethic of both groups. 

José led troops in the Brazilian, Uruguayan and Argentinian struggles for independence against Spain and Portugal. As the war against the external powers wound down, Artigas rose in influence and power in Montevideo, Uruguay. He was well-versed in democracy and government. Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” and Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s “The Social Contract” were two of his favorites. 

He was a bit too well-versed in democracy for the financially elite of Montevideo. While at the lead Artigas redistributed some land, giving it to freed slaves and Uruguay’s poor. This was a final straw for the elites of Montevideo who exiled Artigas. 

José Gervasio Artigas who said, loosely, “We can expect nothing if it is not from ourselves.” (“Nada podemos esperar si no es de nosotros mismos”) remained in the hearts of the people however and when he passed away, his remains were brought back to Montevideo to be interred. There are numerous parks, schools, and monuments in his honor across the globe, including one in Washington, D.C.; Rome, Italy; and Bucharest, Romania to name a few. His birthday, today, is a national holiday in Uruguay. 

 

E. E. Cummings

 

your little voice 

                              Over the wires came leaping 

and i felt suddenly 

dizzy 

          With the jostling and shouting of merry flowers 

wee skipping high-heeled flames 

courtesied before my eyes 

                                                or twinkling over to my side 

Looked up 

with impertinently exquisite faces 

floating hands were laid upon me 

I was whirled and tossed into delicious dancing 

up 

Up 

with the pale important 

                                                stars and the Humorous 

                                                                                                moon 

dear girl 

How i was crazy how i cried when i heard 

                                                                              over time 

and tide and death 

leaping 

Sweetly 

               your voice