On June 19, 1865, slaves in Texas found out they were free. The news came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. After the reading of General Order #3, the former slaves celebrated.
This milestone in American history has been celebrated on and off since 1866. In fact, Juneteenth is the oldest nationwide commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States.
Apart from its historical significance, Juneteenth marks a personal milestone for me. I began my career as an online journalist on June 19, 1999, as a national correspondent for PoliticallyBlack.com. The site was established to ensure that black folks were not the last to hear about news and information that impacted our community. We used the emerging technology to inform our readers and promote civic engagement.
It was a popular site but then the dot-com bubble burst. While PoliticallyBlack.com is in the dot-com graveyard, some of my posts are available at Archive.org.
A new Pew Internet & American Life Project report shows how far we have come. In this election cycle, 46 percent of Americans have gone online, sent email or text messages to get information about political campaigns, share their views or mobilize their social networks.
It was particularly heartening to read that 40 percent of black adults go online for political news and information, up from 19 percent in 2004. So while black folks are in the information loop, there are still challenges.
To commemorate Juneteenth, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and Rep. Danny K. Davis will release a report on black male achievement, "Breaking Barriers: Plotting the Path to Academic Success for School-age African-American Males."
The report, which will be discussed at a Capitol Hill forum today, focuses on four critical areas: personal and emotional, family, social and environmental, and school. Dr. Elsie Scott, president and CEO of the CBC Foundation, said:
Contributors to this report have been careful to focus findings on meaningful solutions, rather than recapping problems. We want to plot a path to academic success for black males, rather than cast a spotlight on their failures.
For more info, please go here or call (202) 263-2800.
