June Nineteenth Is The Official Day Of Black Freedom

Three sorta-interesting “Emancipation Day” tidbits (I think, anyway) taken from "8 Things You May Not Know about Juneteenth":

Before the emancipation, there were limitations placed on the way a slaves could dress. But once the law was lifted, slaves tossed their ragged garments into the creeks and dressed in the clothing taken from the plantations owned by their former masters.

Once the black community became aware that slavery had come to an end, it is said that there was an immediate jubilation of former slaves celebrating in the streets.  What they did not know, however, is that the 13th amendment to the United States Constitution did not bring an official end to slavery.  Instead, it still allows slavery to be legal in the United States if you’ve been convicted of a crime.

The legislation met resistance by African-American representative Clay Smothers. He declared the holiday as “fraudulent,”and detested the idea of “ceremoniously grinning and bursting watermelons on the Capitol grounds.”