Growing up in Texas, Juneteenth has been a holiday for me all my life. A time to BBQ, a time to pray, and a time to celebrate freedom. A time to reflect on June 19, 1865, when Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas to take command of the more than 2,000 federal troops. This was two and half years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation had become law on January 1, 1863. Imagine Major General Granger walking through the streets of Galveston reading General Order No. 3 out loud in front of homes, courthouses, businesses, and churches....
