In 1501, there was no unity in Africa. The continent was divided into hundreds of competitive empires.
African rulers began selling other Africans. Though they did not sell neighbors or brethren, they did imprison foreigners, debtors, and prisoners of war, to be sold through a system of barter and trade, Cambridge University Press reported.
Prices were assigned to millions of lives, set by kings, chiefs, and merchants, establishing the practice of valuing humans as commodities. Lacking a common currency with the European countries that purchased them, African people were traded for guns, ammunition, fabric, and other goods, the Odyssey Traveller noted.
African-born writer and abolitionist, Olaudah Equiano, recalled European ships hovering along the Nigerian shoreline, ominously waiting to load their cargo.
“This filled me with astonishment, which was soon converted into terror when I was carried on board… I was now persuaded that I had gotten into a world of bad spirits, and that they were going to kill me.”
From 1501 to 1867, over 12 million Africans were loaded onto these ships, mainly headed for the Americas and the Caribbean, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History reported.
People were so crowded onto the ships, the unsanitary, suffocating conditions led to sickness and death. Equiano noted that the closeness of the space and the heat of the climate left each person with scarcely room to turn, creating an unbearable stench that carried off many.
As a form of resistance, some refused to eat. Dr. Alexander Falconbridge, a slave ship surgeon who later became a leading British abolitionist, witnessed the violent enforcement mechanisms used to counter these hunger strikes.
“Upon these occasions, I have seen coals of fire, glowing hot, put upon a shovel and placed so near their faces as to scorch them, in order to compel them to open their mouths… If this and other means do not succeed, they are forced open by an instrument of iron.”
These people were treated as merchandise, not as people, and after acclimating to the Americas and acquiring new skills, the people only accrued in value.
In the cash-scarce colonies, humans were purchased in artful ways, using English pounds, Spanish silver dollars, and local paper currencies. When cash was unavailable, plantation owners even signed over future crops or issued bills of exchange to gain whatever commodities were needed to increase profit margins, noted NCpedia.
The enslaved were branded on the breast or shoulder. Yet, they would always be marked as slaves by skin color. Those who got free were automatically considered runaways, Without official freedom papers, they faced immediate arrest—though historical records show many individuals with legitimate documentation were fraudulent resold into labor regardless.
More than 4 million people remained trapped in chattel slavery until 1777, when Northern states began outlawing the practice. Decades later, during the Civil War, the federal Confiscation Acts of 1861 and 1862 declared that any enslaved person forced to aid the Confederate war effort who escaped to Union lines would be permanently free.
The Emancipation Proclamation, issued in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln, legally freed more than 3 million people held in Confederate territories. However, actually securing that liberty required the physical presence of Union troops to force enslavers to relinquish control. As the Union Army advanced southward, thousands of people were liberated each day.
Because Texas was isolated from the main theater of fighting, the state became a safe haven for thousands of slave owners fleeing Mississippi, Louisiana, and Virginia. These enslavers brought an estimated 150,000 captive people to the region, specifically aiming to keep them from hearing rumors of their freedom.
While Texas authorities had learned of the Emancipation Proclamation via official postings, newspapers, and telegraph lines, they deliberately hid the information from the public to squeeze out several more profitable cotton harvests. Even when some enslaved people became aware of the order, many were forced to keep working out of confusion or fear of violent retaliation.
On June 19, 1865, Union Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and issued a public order from a balcony declaring all remaining slaves in the state free. With the Union Army finally present to enforce the decree, massive street celebrations broke out, establishing the lasting cultural tradition of Juneteenth.
A century later, the federal Civil Rights Act made racial discrimination and segregation illegal, followed by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which banned the discriminatory voting practices long used to suppress Black voters.
But, two recent Supreme Court decisions have effectively rolled back parts of that landmark 1965 law: Shelby County v. Holder in 2013 and Louisiana v. Callais this past April. According to a report by the League of Women Voters, these rulings gutted the vital federal legal mechanisms that protect voters from racially discriminatory voting laws and gerrymandered district maps.
The recent changes are reflective of the past. Just as it took the physical presence of Union troops to secure freedom, today’s rolling back of federal oversight proves that civil rights are never permanently won.
A century after the marches that secured the Voting Rights Act, the legal landscape has changed, yet one truth remains clear. The struggle between federal protections and local suppression continues. This means citizens must continue to fight. The burden of ensuring a fair vote will rest on both local legal challenges and on public participation.
Dallas-Fort Worth hosts multiple Juneteenth celebrations with block parties
Juneteenth 4K Freedom Walk and Festival, Saturday, June 13, 2026, at 9:00 am at 2922 Martin Luther King Junior Blvd, Dallas, TX 75215. It is a free outdoor community festival featuring a 4K walk, live entertainment, informational workshops, and a “Healthy Living Zone” offering free public health screenings.
Canvas of Freedom: Celebrating Juneteenth Through Art, Saturday, June 13, 2026, at 11:00 am at J. Erik Johnson Central Library (1515 Young St, Dallas, TX 75201). A community-centered fine arts exhibition displaying diverse works that reflect unity, equity, resilience, and freedom, designed to promote community connection and dialogue. Free.
Juneteenth Health and Wellness Community Fair on Thursday, June 18, 2026, at 11:00 am at University of North Texas, 7300 University Hills Blvd, Dallas, TX 75241). Hosted by the Double Diamonds Agency, this fair focuses on holistic health for the mind, body, and soul. It includes keynote panels with health experts and authors, food giveaways, prize raffles, and booths connecting families to community resource partners. Free.
A Juneteenth Celebration Concert Friday, June 19, 2026, at 7:00 pm at Wayne Ferguson Plaza (150 W Church St, Lewisville, TX 75057). This is part of the multi-day festival Juneteenth: The Cookout. This outdoor concert features live funk, soul, and blues from The Peterson Brothers, a tribute performance by Elements of Fire (Earth, Wind & Fire tribute), regional step teams, food trucks, and inflatables. Free.
There is the Juneteenth! Liberation in Motion picnic at White Rock Lake June 19, 2:00 pm at the Bath House Cultural Center at 531 E. Lawther Drive, Dallas 75218. It is a free, all-ages lakeside celebration picnic honoring the resilience of the Black community. Features live jazz music, movement, dance, and fashion expressions.
Juneteenth Jazz Jam on Friday, 19 & Saturday, 20 at 9 pm at Clarence Muse Café Theatre. The soulful Martha Burks is back for the twenty-second season performing jazz, down home blues, R&B, Pop, and soul! She’ll salute Juneteenth and rock da’ house as usual!y $15.
Oak Cliff Juneteenth Festival on Saturday, June 20, 2026, at 11:00 am at Halperin Park /Bridge Deck Park over Interstate 35E, Dallas, TX 75203. This is a free, family-friendly neighborhood gathering showcasing a curated farmers market, food trucks, community karaoke, trivia, a kids’ splash zone, and guided historical insights into the surrounding Tenth Street Historic District.
Manifest Your Purpose Juneteenth Market on Saturday, June 20, 2026, from 2:00 PM to 7:00 pm at the Shops at RedBird (3662 W Camp Wisdom Rd, Dallas, TX 75237. It will be a massive, culturally rooted outdoor marketplace highlighting Black entrepreneurship. The event brings together over 50 local small businesses, curated food and cocktails, interactive photo booths, and the live presentation of a small-business grant to a deserving BIPOC founder. Free admission.
