Texas' Emancipation Day and Juneteenth National Independence Day (both known as Juneteenth) are tremendously important holidays, but both are mired in miscommunication and inaccuracy. Examples: 1. The national holiday ?symbolically? celebrates slavery?s end - a concept often misinterpreted as ?the day slavery ended.? Fact: Texas was not the last state to outlaw slavery; 2. June 19, 1865 was the day the U.S. Army began enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation. A fact often misspoken as ?the day news of the proclamation arrived in Texas.? Fact: The Emancipation Proclamation was discussed in over 125 Texas newspapers starting October 1862; 3. Juneteenth is regularly promoted as the oldest continuous celebration of emancipation. However, Watchnight occurred three years before Juneteenth and has been observed in many locations annually, ever since. NOTE: Reportedly, Watchnight was the night some enslaved people familiar with the Emancipation Proclamation stayed up and watched for freedom?s arrival. So, why is June 19th a national holiday? Fact: Every state where slavery was legal has an emancipation date. June 19th simply became the most popular date and was chosen to symbolically represent the others. Like it or not, absolutely nothing happened on June 19th that made emancipation in Texas more important than emancipation in Florida (occurring just 30 days earlier); Kentucky (occurring 170 days after); or any other slave-holding state. Juneteenth 101 - Popular Myths and Forgotten Facts is the original encyclopedic compendium of facts and trivia about the history of Juneteenth. It references a wealth of obscure mid-19th century newspaper articles, military records, letters and other documents. While its information originated from scholarly research and is 100% fact-based, its content is presented in a comical, quasi-irreverent style that may be offensive to the culturally delicate. I.e., scholars beware: This book was created for the world?s Junebugs, Big Mamas, and Ray-Rays, ?nem - not you. Besides, true Juneteenth scholars should already know this stuff. For everyone else, discover how Juneteenth?s ?big bang? occurred in October 1868. Realize why watermelon consumption on Juneteenth should be encouraged, not demonized. Learn why Juneteenth was Texas? third mass emancipation event, etc. Curious? There?s more. Did you know the Union Army re-enslaved at least 50 of Galveston?s freedmen hours after emancipating them? Did you know the content of General Orders #3 was published in a Texas newspaper days before General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston? Juneteenth 101 provides verifiable primary documents that support these claims and challenge other popular beliefs regarding what happened in 1865