The Truth About Juneteenth the Left Won’t Tell You

Today marks yet another taxpayer-funded day off for federal employees and yet another needless day off for school teachers across the country. This time, it’s in honor of Juneteenth—the Democrat version of a Hallmark holiday dressed up as historic justice.

It’s been sold to the public as the day slavery ended in America, a tidy, feel-good narrative that the left and their media allies have been relentlessly pushing ever since Joe Biden made it a federal holiday in 2021. But like most things packaged under the banner of “racial justice,” the truth behind Juneteenth is far more complicated—and nowhere near as significant as they’d have you believe.

Here’s what actually happened: On June 19, 1865—more than two years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation—Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and read aloud General Order No. 3, announcing that the slaves in Texas were free. A major moment, sure. But was it the official end of slavery in the United States? Not even close.

Slavery didn’t officially end nationwide until December 6, 1865, when the 13th Amendment was ratified. That’s when slavery, in every corner of the country—not just Texas—was outlawed. So why are we celebrating Juneteenth instead?

That’s because Juneteenth was never about historical accuracy—it’s always been about politics. The holiday wasn’t even on the national radar until after the George Floyd riots in 2020, when Democrats seized the moment to manufacture a new symbol of their so-called “anti-racism” crusade. With an election on the horizon, they needed something flashy to pander to black voters (a demographic they’re losing support from) and placate guilty white liberals. Overnight, a little-known regional observance was repackaged as a sacred national tradition, and suddenly every leftist in America was waving Juneteenth flags like it had been etched into our history books for generations.

Even CNN admitted it. Peniel E. Joseph, director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at UT Austin, acknowledged that the push to make Juneteenth a holiday came “on the heels of the racial justice upheavals of 2020.” In other words, it was a George Floyd tribute dressed up as history.

And let’s not forget what Biden said in this year’s proclamation. He promised to “root out inequity from our country and institutions”—a tired leftist slogan that always translates to more government, more grievance politics, and more imaginary racism.

There’s nothing wrong with commemorating the end of slavery. Thousands of Americans—most of them white—fought and died to end that evil institution. It’s part of our national story. But if we’re going to pick a date to honor the end of slavery, why not choose the day slavery actually ended—December 6th, when the 13th Amendment was ratified?

Democrats didn’t commemorate Juneteenth—they hijacked it. What could have been a serious, historically grounded moment was turned into yet another performative gesture: a new excuse to pander, hand out paid days off to federal workers, shut down schools, and give corporations a chance to virtue signal. This isn’t about honoring history—it’s about controlling the narrative. And it certainly isn’t about unity—it’s about deepening division under the guise of “progress.”

So yes, Juneteenth is an unnecessary holiday. Not because the end of slavery doesn’t deserve recognition, but because the left twisted a regional footnote into a federal holiday to serve their own political agenda.