25 Inspirational Juneteenth Quotes To Keep Fighting Against Racism

Juneteenth is celebrated as a symbol of freedom in the United States on 19 June every year.

On 19 June, 1865 Gordon Granger had proclaimed the end of slavery in the state of Texas. To commemorate that wonderful day, Americans regard it as a state holiday calling it in various names like Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, and Liberation Day.

The then United States President Abraham Lincoln had declared his Emancipation Proclamation, which had outlawed slavery in Texas two years before 1865. Granger's announcement was even more powerful as he was a Union Army General and the rebellion was against the Union troops. Here's a list of Frederick Douglass quotes, Harriet Tubman quotes, and quotes by various stalwarts who spoke about Juneteenth in their speeches, letters, and interviews.

If you like this article on Juneteenth, you might also check out our African American quotes and Kamala Harris quotes.

Juneteenth is a very special day for the African Americans. They had been fighting for their civil rights for generations together. Though the condition is not as good as it should be, this day marks a milestone to this emancipation journey. Here's a list of quotes by Black rights activists and stalwarts.

1. "I prayed for freedom for twenty years, but received no answer until I prayed with my legs."

– Frederick Douglas.

2. "I had reasoned this out in my mind; there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty, or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other; for no man should take me alive."

– Harriet Tubman.

3. "I should fight for my liberty as long as my strength lasted, and when the time came for me to go, the Lord would let them take me."

– Harriet Tubman.

4. "We don't want to sit down and listen to these things, or to discuss them. But we have to."

– Ilyasah Shabazz.

5. "If the cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail. Because the goal of America is freedom, abused and scorned tho' we may be, our destiny is tied up with America's destiny."

– Martin Luther King Jr.

6. "Anytime anyone is enslaved, or in any way deprived of his liberty, if that person is a human being, as far as I am concerned he is justified to resort to whatever methods necessary to bring about his liberty again."

– Malcolm X.

7. "My people have a country of their own to go to if they choose… Africa… but, this America belongs to them just as much as it does to any of the white race."

– Josephine Baker.

8. "Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally."

– Abraham Lincoln.

9. "Where annual elections end where slavery begins."

– John Quincy Adams.

10. "...my daddy told me that they whooped and hollered and bored holes in trees with augers and stopped it up with [gun] powder and light and that would be their blast for the celebration."

– Haye Turner.

Many political figures have talked about the day of Juneteenth and have requested America's country to remember their martyrs and help the Black community not feel excluded. Here's a list of quotes by various figures who encouraged to keep fighting against wrong.

11. "Every year we must remind successive generations that this event triggered a series of events that one by one defines the challenges and responsibilities of successive generations. That's why we need this holiday."

– Al Edwards.

12. "Struggle is a never ending process. Freedom is never really won, you earn it and win it in every generation."

- Coretta Scott King.

13. "Hold those things that tell your history and protect them. During slavery, who was able to read or write or keep anything? The ability to have somebody to tell your story to is so important...it says: 'I was here. I may be sold tomorrow. But you know I was here.'"

- Maya Angelou.

14. "Now I've been free, I know what a dreadful condition slavery is. I have seen hundreds of escaped slaves, but I never saw one who was willing to go back and be a slave."

– Harriet Tubman.

15. "My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together."

- Desmond Tutu.

16. "Won't it be wonderful when Black history and Native American history and Jewish history and all of U.S. history is taught from one book. Just U.S. history."

- Maya Angelou.

17. "I swear to the Lord I still can't see why democracy means everybody but me."

- Langston Hughes.

18. "There are still many causes worth sacrificing for, so much history yet to be made."

— Michelle Obama.

19. "If you know whence you came, there is really no limit to where you can go."

— James Baldwin.

20. "I just don't believe that when people are being unjustly oppressed that they should let someone else set rules for them by which they can come out from under that oppression."

— Malcolm X.

21. "I have always hated slavery, I think as much as any Abolitionist."

– Abraham Lincoln.

Martin Luther King Jr is a legend who has done everything in his life for the black community of America and he has spoken at large about freedom. Here's a list of his quotes on emancipation and freedom.

22. "Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed."

–Martin Luther King Jr.

23. "What matters is not how long you live…but how you live."

–Martin Luther King Jr.

24. "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend."

–Martin Luther King Jr.

25. "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

–Martin Luther King Jr.

26. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

–Martin Luther King Jr.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Martin Luther King then why not take a look at [human rights quotes], or [protest quotes].