Today is Juneteenth and around the Afrosphere black bloggers are recognizin’. What is Juneteenth you ask? Get the full download at The Root: A Primer on Black Independence Day. And also check it out from a proud Gen Y perspective: Smells Like ‘Teenth Spirit.

Juneteenth commemorates the day in which all slaves in the United States were finally freed. It is celebrated with barbeques and picnics and history lessons. And yes, sometimes watermelon is involved. Mmm…Watermelon.

Props to Eddie Griffin for compiling the roundup below.

From Eddie Griffin’s Blog: Why I Remember Juneteenth

June 19, 1865 signified the day in history when the last slaves of Texas were set free. It officially ended of the Civil War.

Excerpts from the Handbook of Texas Online:

On June 19 (“Juneteenth”), 1865, Union general Gordon Granger read the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston, thus belatedly bringing about the freeing of 250,000 slaves in Texas. The tidings of freedom reached slaves gradually as individual plantation owners read the proclamation to their bondsmen over the months following the end of the war.

Around the Afrosphere:

Dallas South: Why I Celebrate Juneteenth

Ultraviolet Underground: Remember Juneteenth

Black Perspectives: Today is Independence Day

Electronic Village: What is Juneteenth?

Slant Truth: Happy Juneteenth!

There Already: 163 Years Ago Today…

The Fort Wayne Blog: Juneteenth Celebration

All About Race: Juneteenth 2008

Whattamisaid My Black History: What was William Staples thinking on June 19, 1865?

Purple Zoe: Remember Juneteenth

Exodus Mentality: What You Know About Juneteenth?

Black Voices: Ancestors Are Reaching Out On Juneteenth

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