That sculpture is a bit much. Personally, I think a proper Juneteenth memorial would be a simple plaque that says:
On June 19, 1865, Republican troops lead by a Republican president freed the last of the slaves held captive by Democrat slave owners.
“On June 19, 1865, Republican troops lead by a Republican president freed the last of the slaves”
Your thought is correct. Blacks were officially freed on that day (or one near it) by the bloodiest war America has fought in terms of percent of the population that was lost, almost all of them white men.
Juneteenth ought to be a memorial to those lost in that war, and to blacks it should be a day of thinks for those that fought for their freedom.
I’m not just being nasty to blacks. After their freedom was won, many whites continued to treat blacks terribly, and some still do, and I wish that weren’t so.
I think the Republican leader did the emancipation proclamation much earlier than June 19 1865. It just took that long for the realization to hit that it was twue.... just a joke.... when Texans found out, the mail was a tad slower then. Not a joke.
How long until Juneteenth supercedes Independence day, Kwanza supercedes Christs Mass, and MLK day supercedes Washingtons or Lincolns birfdays...strike that last one... the birthdays of our most important Presidents are just memories of old people.
Whitemen fought, bled, and died to hand freedom on a silver platter to black slaves. On June 19th, 1865, a small number of those former slaves were informed of that gift. Their descendants are whining because the platter wasn’t gold ...
People generally don’t value what they haven’t earned.