Juneteenth 2026: Reflections and Future Aspirations

Tom Brokaw aptly named the World War II generation the “Greatest Generation.” However, I propose the term Freedom Generation for another remarkable American generation—those who fought to end slavery and the millions of Black Americans who endured it. It's time, especially on the Juneteenth holiday, to honor these Civil War-era Americans as the “Freedom Generation.”

Fine, Camille. 2023. "Earliest Juneteenth Celebration Photographs from 19th-Century." USA Today, June 19, 2023. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/06/18/earliest-juneteenth-celebrations-photographed-in-1800s-in-texas/70326233007/.

The Juneteenth Holiday originated on June 19th, 1865, when Union regiments arrived in Galveston, Texas, after the Civil War. Many slaves were unaware of their freedom and the Union's victory. General Gordon Granger issued Order #3, declaring "all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor."

Juneteenth celebrations began immediately. Author and historian Clint Smith discusses the holiday's origins in his book How the Word Is Passed (2021): The earliest iterations of Juneteenth in Texas ranged from ceremonial readings of the Emancipation Proclamation to Black newspapers printing images of Abraham Lincoln in their pages . . . the celebrations included church services in which preachers had the congregation give thanks for their freedom while encouraging them to be relentless in the ongoing struggle for racial equity . . . And in the afternoon there were massive feasts . . . picnics, beauty pageants, baseball games, and an endless stream of songs that emanated through the streets. (How the Word Is Passed, page 187.)  

Some might claim that Juneteenth is a holiday exclusively for Black Americans. I respectfully disagree. Certainly, the holiday has deep significance for Black Americans as descendants of 250 years of enslavement. African Americans have a unique connection to Juneteenth, having fought for their freedom over centuries. The contributions of leaders like Black abolitionists David Walker, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and Frederick Douglass (my first historical hero) should be acknowledged on this day, along with the remarkable resilience of all those who resisted slavery in countless ways every day. Enslaved individuals ran away, damaged tools, and did everything possible to undermine their masters who sought to extract every ounce of labor and value from their "property." Moreover, Black Americans developed their own music, religion, and culture under the harshest conditions.  

By 1863 thousands of white Americans also joined the battle against slavery. Men like my great-great-grandfather, Corporal John Whitfield Newton Doak, played a significant role in the Freedom Generation and also deserve to be mentioned on Juneteenth. As a white man with limited knowledge of Black people, John W. N. Doak likely held the racist common prejudices of mid-19th century America toward African Americans and probably did not support full racial equality. Nevertheless, he was an anti-slavery Republican, voted for Lincoln, and supported the Emancipation Proclamation and the use of Black troops. Many of his close friends from Paris, Illinois, even became officers in a Black regiment. (Sadly, due to racism, Blacks were not permitted to lead other Blacks into battle.) In a letter to his sweetheart and fiancée dated May 4th, 1863, John mentioned that his friend James M. Alexander, the abolitionist chaplain of his regiment and soon to be the colonel of the 1st Alabama of African Descent, was recruiting and training a Black regiment in Corinth, Mississippi: “Alexander is getting along very well with his colored regiment. I believe W.B. McCord, John Magner, D.W. Brown, Thornton, John Brooks, and Howard McCord of Company E talk of going into the regiment. Also wanted me to go into it but I will not, though wish them success.”

In late June 2024, a National Park Service Ranger at the Corinth Interpretive Center in Corinth, Mississippi, asked me: "If your ancestor supported the use of Black troops, why didn’t he join the Black regiment?" That's a valid question. My best guess is that he avoided taking on additional duties and responsibilities due to illness. At the battle of Fort Donelson, he caught a "bad cold" (as he described it) along with a persistent cough that plagued him intermittently during his service.

Corporal John W. N. Doak, 66th Illinois Infantry/"Western Sharpshooters," 1861-1864. 

I hope all Americans embrace the Juneteenth holiday and honor the Freedom Generation. With this hope, my wife and I attended our first Juneteenth Celebration on June 20th, 2026, at the Historic Square in Woodstock, IL, organized by the McHenry County Juneteenth Organization.

My wife and I spent about an hour at the event, interacting with exhibitors, attendees, and organizers. We enjoyed the music and dances of Stev Walker and his art known as Capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art that beautifully combines acrobatics, dance, rhythm, and combat. It was a delightful afternoon. I attended as a representative of U.S. Grant Camp 1863, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), dressed in my new Union corporal uniform. Although I was uncomfortable in my heavy, stiff, brogan boots and rather warm dark blue wool Union army jacket, both attendees and organizers appreciated my attire and thanked me for being there. Two people even wanted to take a picture with “a Union soldier!” One of the organizers suggested that I, or another member of the Sons of Union Veterans, could read General Gordon Granger’s Proclamation # 3. Perhaps next year, I replied, mentioning that I am “only a corporal.”

So, consider adding the Woodstock Juneteenth Celebration or another Juneteenth event to your calendar. Let all Americans unite and come together to celebrate this newest of American holidays. Prepare to celebrate American freedom on Juneteenth 2027!