Why would you not want to celebrate the end of slavery, unless you miss it? Even year people of my faith celebrate our release from slavery in Egypt some 3,000 years ago; surely African Americans should do the same; as should white Americans who can celebrate the end of their tragic relationship to the sytem. Forgetting slavery would mean forgetting a central piece of American history; forgetting the experience of 40% or more of the Virginia population (if we include the masters and their families it would be about 75%) up to 1865; it would be forgetting the cause of the civil war and the reason the Confederacy was created (Slavery was the "cornerstone" of the Confederacy according Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens). Juneteenth is problematic for Va. although it is recognized as the day slavery was finally over in Texas. I would think Emancipation Day (Jan. 1) or the day of the ratification of the 13th Amendment, would make more sense. Paul FInkelman Paul Finkelman President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law and Public Policy Albany Law School 80 New Scotland Avenue Albany, New York 12208-3494 518-445-3386 [log in to unmask] >>> [log in to unmask] 01/23/07 3:45 PM >>> Slavery, and the end thereof, is something better forgotten than celebrated. In a message dated 01/23/07 15:43:07 Eastern Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes: On Jan 23, 2007, at 3:30 PM, Yojsouth wrote: > Just another made up PC holiday like Kwanza. > > This is inaccurate. In Austin, Texas, "Juneteenth was first celebrated in 1867 under the direction of the Freedmen's Bureau, and became part of the calendar of public events by 1872." More at http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/JJ/lkj1.html, including bibliography. Its observance in Virginia is another matter, of course, though there were celebrations recorded widely when news of Emancipation reached Virginia's slaves and, as Harold Forsythe notes, commemorative celebrations followed for many years. Why not research the day when most who commemorated Emancipation in Virginia chose to do so (April 9? January 1?), and encourage official commemorations then? --Jurretta Heckscher To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html