Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 5 June 2003 — Page 5
The Muncie Times • June 5, 2003 • Page 5
continued from page 4. condensation, then, and every word is Ellison’s. Callahan used the notes to sequence the sections, and inserted three chapters and several passages from the larger manuscript to make the narrative cohere. “Editing the essays and stories was fortuitous
preparation for working on Juneteenth,” he says, quoting Hemingway’s words on his own art; “First I did arithmetic, then I did algebra, and finally I was ready for calculus.” Juneteenth is calculus.” It’s “calculus” partly because, unlike Invisible Man, which contains many
contradictions within a single point of view, Juneteenth tacks between the voices of two protagonists, black and white: “At first the narration drove me crazy!” Callahan laughs, flattening his flyaway hair with the palms of both hands. “But, I learned how it works. And
the shifting point of view— Ellison is using it to break down barriers we imagine between the races. He loved crossing the narrative color line.” What about the rest of the manuscript? Callahan will produce a scholarly edition containing all the pages and notes from
Ellison’s unfinished saga. “Everything’ll be out there,” he smiles, “an American thinker-tinker’s literary do-it-yourself kit that readers can use to make their own personal versions of Ellison’s last novel.”
MISSOURI SET TO MAKE JUNETEENTH A STATE HOLIDAY
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.-- The Missouri Legislature under its new Republican leadership, in Rep. Catherine Hanaway, the states first female Speaker of the House, is expected to pass an Emancipation Holiday Bill (HB 640) makin, Juneteenth an official sta' holiday. As part of thi continued efforts by thl Republican Party t
demonstrate its sensitivity to African American voters, the Democratic Whip, Rep. Juanita Walton, introduced the legislation that is on the sure path of making Missouri the 10th state to acknowledge the economic and commemorative
Juncteepth, currently
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eteenth G
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this two and a half year delay in the receipt of this important news have yielded several versions that have been handed down through the years. Often told is the story of a messenger who was murdered on his way to Texas with the news of freedom. Another, is that the news was deliberately withheld by the enslavers to maintain the labor force on the plantations. And still another, is that federal troops actually waited for the slave owners to reap the benefits of one last cotton harvest before going to Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. All or none of them could be true. For whatever the reason, conditions in Texas remained status quo well beyond what was statutory. General Order Number 3
4
gaining full recognition for their struggles to equal opportunity and access to American social and economic fulfillment, is on the rise. President George W. Bush has acknowledge the importance of Juneteenth’s role in the nt of the social 1 climate dnd as governor of Texas iilstiti^tf] late Junftcenlh jssion to build;;a monument on the ptal|f|
Capitol grounds as testament to the value of African Americans in that stateis history. In 1996, then Missouri Sen. John Ashcroft, as part of a special bipartisan Senate Committee, signed SJR 11, ~Juneteenth Independence
first National Juneteenth Observance at the U.S. Capitol in 1997. “The new Missouri leadership would do well to follow their national leadership while making state history if the bill passes both houses.” said ie Rev. Ronald V. Myers Sr., M.D., chairman of the
Day”
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ions Spread Across
Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration of the ending of slavery. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.
One of General Granger’s first orders of business was to read to the people of Texas, General Order Number 3 which began most significantly with: “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 rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer.” The reactions to this profound news ranged from pure shock to immediate jubilation. While many lingered to learn of this new employer to employee relationship, many left before these offers were completely off the lips of
their forr attesting to the varying conditions on the plantations and the realization of freedom. Even with nowhere to go, many felt that leaving the plantation would be their first grasp of freedom. North was a logical destination and for many it represented true freedom, while the desire to reach family members in neighboring states drove the some into Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Settling into these new areas as free men and women brought on new realities and the challenges of establishing a heretofore nonexistent status for black people in America. Recounting the memories of that great day in June of 1865 and its festivities would serve as motivation as well as a release from the growing
essures encountered in their new territory. The celebration of June 19th was coined “Juneteenth” and grew with more participation from descendants. The Juneteenth celebration was a time for reassuring each other, for praying and for gathering remaining family members. Juneteenth continued to be highly revered in Texas decades later, with many former slaves and descendants making an annual pilgrimage back to Galveston on this date. Resurgence The Civil Rights movement of the 50’s and 60’s yielded both positive and negative results for the Juneteenth celebrations. While it pulled many of the African American youth away and into the struggle for racial equality, many continue on page 6.