DUDRA BUTLER: Juneteenth celebrates end of slavery in US

The proclamation reads, "Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following to wit:

"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within in any state, or designated part of a state, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom."

Year after year I have looked forward to the jubilant celebrations that "Emancipation Day" brings, or Juneteenth, as Texans call it. And I will continue to honor this relevant component of our country's history despite what I have learned about the reasoning behind the emancipation.

Allen C. Guelzo, in his book, "Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America," states, "Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves. Or so I was taught in grade school. Later, of course, I became much more knowledgeable and sophisticated. I learned that Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation applied only to areas in actual rebellion against the Union — places not in control of federal forces."

This doubt was brought home to a packed church in the form of words of encouragement by Apostle Theodore Boone, on June 5, at San Angelo's Greater IME Church, as it hosted the Juneteenth committee's annual musical celebration. The theme of this year's event is "Together," which was raised up in praise and honor to God for all he has done and that we know he will continue to do.

While there has been much debate in regard to the real reasons for Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation and where he really stood on equality, I am truly happy that God used him and his presidency.

I read he viewed slavery as immoral and initially opposed its extension into new territories. However, in 1862, in the midst of the Civil War, he also had begun to view emancipation as a military necessity, recognizing that freed slaves would weaken the South and provide manpower for the North.

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