The link to the sermon has expired, but it can be obtained upon request to the [email protected] .

Juneteenth (a portmanteau of June and nineteenth) – also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day, and Emancipation Day – is a holiday celebrating the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States. Originating in Galveston, Texas, it is now celebrated annually on June 19 throughout the United States, with varying official recognition. It is commemorated on the anniversary date of the June 19, 1865 announcement by Union Army general Gordon Granger, proclaiming freedom from slavery in Texas.

David Cooper is a retired professor of African American Studies at Jefferson Community and Technical College.  He is pleased to consider himself a gentleman of leisure, who can now write, read, travel, learn French, etc.  He has graciously consented to tell us about the importance of Juneteenth.