In Washington, on Black Lives Matter Plaza, so renamed after the death of George Floyd , the fact that June 19 is now a public holiday throughout the country obviously takes on a very special resonance, testifies Moïse, who lives in neighboring Maryland: ” Maybe it’ll help bring everyone, all races, all countries together. “

“Juneteenth”, as it is called across the Atlantic (contraction of the words “June” and “19” in English), is now a federal holiday . Congress and President Joe Biden have decided that this is the day of the emancipation of the last slaves. A gesture hailed in particular by the African-American community.

Transmission of History

Because Shandra and her husband Perry arrive from the southern United States , Baton Rouge in Louisiana, they are familiar with the story of June 19, 1865. In Galveston, Texas, a Union general teaches a group of slaves that they were in fact emancipated two years earlier. Today, the American couple want to share this knowledge with their two boys, aged 9 and 12. “My ancestors were slaves only three generations ago. My family came to Georgia then, taken from West Africa.”

So the father is pleased that this day is now commemorated:
“Making it a national holiday is certainly a step in the right direction. It is not yet a compensation, which should exist elsewhere, but a step in the right direction. ” The Louisiana family continued on their way up Black Lives Matter Plaza to the White House, built at the end of the 18th century, notably by African American slaves.