The Oklahoma City Thunder and some of its players shared messages to honor and celebrate Juneteenth.
This day commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Union soliders arrived in Galveston, Texas, to the last of the enslaved population.
They informed the African Americans there that they were no longer slaves. It was about two months after the Confederacy surrendered the Civil War and about two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.
The reason it took two months after the war ended is disputed, according to Juneteenth.com.
Juneteenth became a Texas state holiday in 1980.
Oklahoma State Representative Jason Lowe said he will propose legislation to make it a state holiday in Oklahoma, too, according to 5NewsOnline.
This year’s Juneteenth falls during the midst of protests over racial disparity and injustice. The Thunder posted a message to Twitter to honor the day.
The organization’s podcast, the Thunder Basketball Universe, spoke with Dr. Karlos Hill, chair of African & African American Studies at University of Oklahoma, and Mautra Jones, vice president of Langston University, about the meaning and history of the day and how we can advance as a society.
Chris Paul tweeted a graphic and posted a second to Instagram with the caption “The work continues.”
Andre Roberson retweeted a short animated video explaining what the day means.
Terrance Ferguson posted a photo to Instagram.
Luguentz Dort shared two Instagram posts: one from the Thunder organization and the other from Arizona State, where he played college basketball.
