Reclaiming the Full Story of Juneteenth: A Conversation with Woullard Lett
Source: National Museum of African American History & Culture – Smithsonian
Each June, communities across the United States gather to celebrate Juneteenth, a blend of "June" and "nineteenth”, as the end of slavery in the U.S. But few people know the full history of the end of slavery. In a conversation with the New Hampshire Center for Justice & Equity (NHCJE), Woullard Lett, Education Committee chair of the Manchester NAACP and Male Co-chair of the New England Chapter of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA), clarified the full story of Juneteenth, establishing three vital truths:
The Emancipation Proclamation applied only to the Confederate States, meaning that Africans enslaved in Union states remained enslaved after its passage.
It was not until the 13th Amendment was ratified, six months later, on December 6th, 1865, that slavery was made illegal for everyone in the United States.
Even then, those formerly enslaved were not granted U.S. citizenship until the passage of the 14th Amendment in 1868.
Source: National Museum of African American History & Culture – Smithsonian
Mainstream historical accounts of Juneteenth - depicting it as the day in 1865 when the last remaining enslaved Black Americans became free, after Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, with the news of emancipation - highlight the uplifting parts of the story, while glossing over uncomfortable truths about the legacy of African chattel enslavement in America. This article is an effort to reclaim the whole story and invite a more honest reckoning with history. By acknowledging the contradictions within the dominant narratives, we create space for deeper understanding and ensure we don’t repeat the past.
Unpacking the Complex Truths Behind Emancipation
For Woullard Lett, understanding Juneteenth requires examining the long and layered history of African chattel enslavement in the United States and facing a deeper truth about the nation’s founding conflicts. “My perspective is grounded in the observation that there were two civil wars in North America,” he stated. “The dynamics that brought about that first war [American Revolutionary War] are very similar to the dynamics at the base of the second civil war [American Civil War], which was the enslavers taking up arms to defend their economic position in society,” he added.
Both conflicts were shaped by tensions where powerful economic interests resisted the threat of ending enslavement. According to Lett, even the Emancipation Proclamation reveals the moral and strategic contradictions of the Civil War era. “Many people don’t realize that when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, it was only for the Confederate states,” he explained. “Those states that belonged to the Union and had legalized African chattel enslavement, like Delaware, Maryland, or Kentucky, were allowed to continue.”
Enslavement was only made illegal six months later, on December 6th, 1865, when Georgia became the 27th state to ratify the 13th Amendment, fulfilling the requirement that three-quarters of the states approve of a Constitutional amendment. And even then, those formerly enslaved were not granted U.S. citizenship until the passage of the 14th Amendment in 1868.
“My perspective is grounded in the observation that there were two civil wars in North America . . . The dynamics that brought about that first war [American Revolutionary War] are very similar to the dynamics at the base of the second civil war [American Civil War], which was the enslavers taking up arms to defend their economic position in society.”
Making Space for the Contradictions of American History
Additionally, Lett argues that the primary function of the Emancipation Proclamation was to destabilize the economy of the Confederate States, which relied on the exploitation of enslaved people, and consolidate the Union’s war effort. “Frederick Douglass, a prominent abolitionist of African descent, was a big advocate for including men of African descent in the Union Army. It was only from fear of losing the war that people of African descent were allowed to serve as Union soldiers,” Lett said. “The Emancipation Proclamation wasn’t so much a moral document as a military one.”
George Washington. Painting by Junius Brutus Stearns, 19th century.
The broader context around this landmark document highlights the contradictions that sit at the core of American history. This is also embodied by the most revered figures of the nation’s founding. “The first 12 presidents of the United States were enslavers,” Lett said. “Even the author of the Declaration of Independence, who opined that all men were created equal, was himself an enslaver,” he reminded us, referring to Thomas Jefferson.
But rather than casting judgment, Lett encourages a more complex, honest reckoning with history, particularly when it comes to commemorating holidays like Juneteenth.
“Part of the challenge that we face today is the cultural tendency to look at things in a binary way, where either you’re good or bad. But we’re all complex people and walking contradictions. The same is true of the American experience.”
Moving Beyond the White Savior Narrative
Another aspect that makes Juneteenth celebrations feel incomplete for Lett is how they are often framed as the arrival of Major General Gordon Granger to Galveston Bay, Texas. “One of the things I take issue with is how the narrative is grounded in this ‘white savior, ’” he said. “The characterization of Juneteenth and even the Civil War is that the Union was doing a favor to African people who were being enslaved, when, in effect, it was justice. They were righting a wrong.”
This argument challenges us to consider not just the stories we tell, but the stories we amplify. “As I understand it, the soldiers that accompanied General Granger to Galveston were soldiers of African descent. The role of agency of African people in their own story is often downplayed or even ignored,” Lett continued.
This erasure contributes to the low-context understanding of history, which Lett is critical of, reminding us that America is, at its foundation, a European colonial settler state. “There was a young African American philosopher, Neely Fuller Jr., who said if you don't understand white supremacy and racism, everything that you do understand will only confuse you,” he quoted. “In many ways, I think that the current society continues to require that the story of Juneteenth feeds and supports the dominant narrative.”
“There was a young African American philosopher, Neely Fuller Jr., who said if you don’t understand white supremacy and racism, everything that you do understand will only confuse you. In many ways, I think that the current society continues to require that the story of Juneteenth feeds and supports the dominant narrative.”
Reframing Juneteenth as Living History
Lett urges us to place Juneteenth within a broader historical continuum instead of treating it as a static moment in time. “It’s important for us to mark significant occurrences in our lives and history,” he said. “However, we have to contextualize it in a way that doesn’t result in detaching it from the experience and the history that came before.”
He draws comparisons to how we treat Black History Month as a compartmentalized ritual that often feels disconnected from a deeper understanding of the role that people of African descent have played in shaping the nation. “We must understand that Black History is American history,” he highlighted. “A similar thing is true about Juneteenth; it's not something that should only be of interest to people of African descent.”
A Shared Struggle, A Shared Future
The same can be said about equity - it is not just the responsibility or concern of communities of color, but a test of our collective moral compass. “We are all part of the American experiment and the human family,” he said. “Unless we’re able to figure out what we have in common and work together on those interests, then we all lose.”
Today’s political and economic realities highlight these common interests. “The cuts the current federal government and administration are proposing to our social safety nets, while providing additional opportunities for wealth-building for the already wealthy, are going to impact us all,” noted Lett, emphasizing that we are worse off when we are divided.
As public discourse becomes more polarized, efforts to roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, the increasing wave of book bans and proposed legislation against critical race theory in schools, hint at a growing movement to omit uncomfortable aspects of history. These trends mirror the very simplifications Lett warns against, where complex truths are reduced to binary narratives that maintain the status quo.
When the historical context is narrowed, we lose the opportunity to learn from it.
In Lett’s words, “the lessons to be learned from Juneteenth aren’t just for people of African descent, but for society at large.” This Juneteenth, let’s celebrate freedom not as a finished chapter, but as an evolving process. This day is part of an ongoing commitment to justice, truth-telling, and moral reckoning.
“We are all part of the American experiment and the human family,” he said. “Unless we’re able to figure out what we have in common and work together on those interests, then we all lose.”
About Woullard Lett
Woullard Lett
Woullard Lett is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Manchester, NH, Diverse Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries (DRUUMM), and Black Lives Unitarian Universalist (BLUU), the New England Chapter of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N'COBRA), Manchester, NH branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Northeast Federation of Cooperatives and We Tuskegee Ubuntu Collective.