Here are the winning essays from the 2025 Dr. Eugene and Dr. Maxine Hankins Cain Lansing Juneteenth Essay Competition and Scholarship Program. First- and second-place winner received cash scholarships.
The essay prompts for the various categories included “What is Juneteenth?” “Why do we celebrate Juneteenth?” and “What connections can be drawn between Juneteenth and modern-day social justice movements?”
End of slavery doesn’t mean end of fight
Juneteenth is a celebration that brings every African American together and gives us a moment to think about the slaves or people who went through these hard times. We also use this day to appreciate the ones who were brave enough to save every enslaved person who was going through these hard times.
Celebrating Juneteenth is historically significant because it represents and celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth marks the day 250,000 slaves were freed. Federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to free all of these enslaved people. Now imagine all of those human beings being pushed around, being bossed around, being told what to do, being whipped, barely being fed, and believe it or not these people were getting their children taken and sold. Think about it: the kids who grew up working and being slaved around never got to know who their parents were. Most of these kids never played a day in their lives. When they became old enough to function they automatically got forced to work. …
Juneteenth is just a reminder to show bravery, love, and respect. Just because slavery is “over” doesn’t mean the fight is over. We shall continue to stand up and fight as Juneteenth reminds us about how much work we put in. We cannot let this day go down. This is our day to show that we are brave enough to stand up to slavery, racism, segregation, civil rights and more.
We should all take this time and think and pray and just be grateful to these federal troops, even if they weren’t good people, let us just be grateful to them. Let’s thank God, for creating such good and brave souls to get those 250,000 people to freedom. Let’s thank God, for giving us this much freedom period. Without anyone there to save those people there wouldn’t be any Juneteenth or probably worse no freedom. Today we are fighting for our rights, tomorrow we are still fighting for our rights. Yes, half of these people still believe Blacks are bad and Blacks don’t deserve any of life. Half of us might just give up because we are Black. Some might believe anywhere we go we will get judged. Believe it or not slavery is still going on and it might even come back but just never forget about Juneteenth. Never stop fighting., Never, forget about the people who never stopped fighting for freedom. Never forget about what happened that very day, who saved them and what was going on during those times, and what they went through.
— Zeinabu Ujendo, 9th grade, Lansing Everett High School, first place, Category III
Juneteenth allows for learning, celebrating history
Juneteenth has a unique and memorable name. On June 19, 1865, General Gordon Granger and the Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to announce that the Civil War had ended and enslaved people in the state were free. Juneteenth is a combination of the month and date (June 19th) that the announcement was made to the slaves in Texas. It is interesting to note that President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, announcing the end of slavery in Confederate states. However, there were slave owners in the state of Texas, that chose not to inform their slaves that they were free until two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation which gives even more of a reason to celebrate Juneteenth.
Although the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, it took time for the Federal troops to travel across the Confederate South to announce that the Civil War had ended, and the slaves had their freedom. Therefore, slaves were free at different times and Texas was the last stop on the trail to freedom. When General Granger reached Galveston, Texas, he issued General Orders No. 3 (now known as Juneteenth Order) that freed 250,000 slaves in Texas.
A year later on June 19, 1866, the formerly enslaved people in Texas organized their first celebration of Juneteenth (“Jubilee Day” or “Freedom Day”) to commemorate their freedom. It was a time for them to come together as a community to share their history and hardships and celebrate a future of freedom. One can only imagine the joy of celebrating their freedom when they came together for prayer meetings, singing spiritual songs of joy and hope, and the wearing of new clothes to represent newfound freedom. After many years of celebration, African Americans started celebrating Juneteenth in other states which led to an annual tradition.
With the Black Lives Matter movement to increase awareness, and after nationwide protests following the police killings of Black Americans, President Biden signed legislation in 2021 to make Juneteenth a federal holiday which occurs on June 19th of each year. Juneteenth is the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Freedom was not complete until the last slave was free. Texas was the last state to be free and now we can all celebrate. Juneteenth is an important day of celebration. It marks the end of slavery in the United States and reminds us of the resilience and perseverance of African Americans. Juneteenth is a day that honors the strength and bravery of those who fought for their rights and remember the struggles of the past.
Celebrating Juneteenth helps us to appreciate freedom, learn about our history, and reflect on how far we have come. We should continue thinking about how we can work together for a better future of racial equality and justice in the United States.
— Angel Redmond, 7th grade, Chippewa Middle School, first place, Category II
Juneteenth is a reminder to have hope, push for equality
Juneteenth is the celebration of the world reaching the last enslaved Africans on the abolition of slavery around June 19th, 1865 in the state of Texas. On that day, Union Soldiers rode down to Galveston, Texas to let the last enslaved African Americans know that they were now free from slavery. This information was held from them due to plantation owners holding back this information from the enslaved in order to continue cotton production. The original Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January first of 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, which means The North had no way of enforcing the law unless The North won the Civil War.
Juneteenth was originally celebrated within the African American communities throughout Texas. And as the Black Texans moved throughout the country during the Great Migration, they took their ideas and celebrations, including Juneteenth with them, spreading it throughout the country, particularly out west to places like California. Juneteenth was issued as a Texas state holiday on January 1, 1980, but it only became a national holiday on June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed it into law. Many people, especially the great Opal Lee, a Texas teacher who taught about the history of the day a lot in her classes, helped push Juneteenth to get recognized by government. This only added new ideas about the holiday throughout the country. This means that the reason someone celebrates Juneteenth is a lot in part up to them. Some celebrate Juneteenth to remember the hardship that enslaved people went through. Others see it as a day to honor their ancestors’ perseverance. Some just celebrate to be around friends, family and community. My family personally gathers with close friends and has fun and eats lots of food and & listens to various styles of African American music. My dad is from Texas, so he brings a lot of the old Texas traditions to which we combine with Lansing traditions.
The African American experience has not been easy in the United States. The history of slavery, lynching, Jim Crow, and its legacies still impact us today. However, there is always a reason to have hope, and Juneteenth is a huge reminder of that. The hope that our ancestors have in us today. The hope that equality will not be more than a dream. This holiday IS the reminder of black excellence, and the reminder that we can fight for equality today just as the greats before us did. The holiday reminds us that people fought hard to get to this point. And we can fight hard to get to a point in the future that builds the respect that our culture deserves.
Juneteenth is the checkpoint in the big race that we call equality. We decide what’s next.
— Langston Chambers, 8th grade, MacDonald Middle School, second place, Category II
People of African descent celebrate freedom on Juneteenth
What is Juneteenth? What made this a holiday? What is the holiday? These are all questions you may have, and after hours of research I am here to give you an answer. I’ve got all my information from nps.gov and nmaahc.si.edu. I will be talking about the National holiday, Juneteenth’s history from 1863 – now.
When asking a family member, “What is Juneteenth?” They didn’t know much about the holiday, so I am going to answer the question, “What is Juneteenth?” Also known as Emancipation Day, Juneteenth comes from the month “June” and the word “Nineteenth” making “Juneteenth.” From “nps.gov” it states that “Juneteenth is a National Independence Day that was signed into law as a national holiday on June 17, 2021.” In Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865 enslaved African Americans were informed of their new found freedom. From the Emancipation Proclamation freedom to the enslaved people of Texas on January 1, 1863 by president Abraham Lincoln, however because of slaveholders and how Texas is the farthest of the Confederacy states they kept their slaves for almost two and a half more years. The years of 1865 – 1877 however were known as the Reconstruction Era of great hope in struggling times for the United States. As for slavery had been going on for over 200 years. African Americans began to rebuild families, sue slaveholders, push radical legislation, and run political office. Changes like these have brought us to where we are in society. Since 1865 to the present day, people of African American descent all around the United States have celebrated this national holiday by putting together foods and drinks with red coloring included into it. The reason for the red color is from ceremonies practiced by enslaved West Africans. In times of uncertainty never giving up hope is exactly what this National Holiday, Juneteenth is.
So Juneteenth is a day for people of African descent to celebrate their freedom from slavery. 1863 was the year they were released, however the slavery owners kept them for two and a half more years until informing them of their freedom on June 19, 1865. I believe that Juneteenth is a day for celebration and hope for the future, because based on the freedom the slaves were told on June 19th they now can celebrate.
— Evie Gruhn, 6th grade, Mt. Hope Elementary School, first place, Category I
Never forget ‘golden day’ of Juneteenth
Juneteenth is a holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the United States. It marks when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 and freed 250,000 slaves. Juneteenth also marks the day when everyone came together and saved these people. The federal troops put aside all their differences to save the United States. How crazy is that?
What is Juneteenth? I asked my big sister. As she explained what Juneteenth is I got half of what she said. I basically got the basic parts of what Juneteenth is all about. My sister stated that African Americans being free on this day impacted a lot of places in the United States. She also said something about federal troops, and etc. But I knew I needed more information so I visited “What is Juneteenth?|History” and found out more information as I kept reading I found out that when the leader of Texas surrendered, slavery didn’t end there it got to the point where General Gordon Granger, a union leader stood up and read the rule to them he read that the slaves in the United States were freed. …
1865 was the first time Juneteenth was ever celebrated. In the following decades, Juneteenth observations focused on music, barbecues, prayer services, and even Black people migrating from Texas to other parts of the country as they passed on the Juneteenth tradition around the world. In 1979, Texas was the first state to make Juneteenth an authorized holiday fast forward to 2021, and they passed the resolution establishing Juneteenth as a countrywide holiday; President Biden also signed it into law on June 17, 2021.
You should remember Juneteenth isn’t just a day, it’s a special day, a golden day. It shows that even if you fall on your face, you’re still moving forward. It also shows us to never give up even if your words are not heard. Thank you to the people who fought for our rights, we are all very grateful. We are in a good place right now and all thanks to those people’s bravery, and Juneteenth shows all of it. Never forget about this golden day. Let’s stay grateful and forgive but never forget.
— Khadija Ujendo, 6th grade, Gardner Middle School, second place, Category I
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Greater Lansing essay contest winners share history, meaning of Juneteenth holiday
Reporting by Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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