BLACKSBURG, Va., June 15 -- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University issued the following news release:
As the United States gears up to celebrate 250 years as a country, the Juneteenth holiday marks an important milestone.
The June 19 celebration of the day in 1865 when African Americans in Texas learned that slavery had ended was historic for the United States. In fact, it made the Declaration of Independence, signed 89years earlier, relevant.
Dan Thorp, associate history professor, offers insight into the connections between Juneteenth and the country's birthday.
"The Declaration of Independenceincluded an aspirational statement that 'all men are created equal' and 'endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights....