Provided below are a list of key terms related to Juneteenth and the freedom of African Americans from slavery. These words will appear throughout the Juneteenth toolkit and can be used when talking about the history of Juneteenth. 

Abolition

The legal prohibition of slavery, especially of slavery in the United States.

Bondage

Being bound or in servitude of a controlling person or force by law.

Disenfranchisement

The deprivation of a right of citizenship, especially of the right to vote.

Emancipate

The act of being freed from legal, social, or political restrictions; liberation.

Emancipation Proclamation

The proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, freeing enslaved people in the territories still in rebellion against the Union.

Enslaved

Cause (someone) to lose their freedom of choice or action. It is better practice to use the word "enslaved" rather than "slave" as it recognizes the agency and humanity of the people that were forced into slavery.

Enslavement

The act of being reduced to slavery.

Freedman/Freedwoman

A man/woman who has been freed from slavery.

Freedom Seekers

African Americans taking control and action of their future by leaving the site of enslavement.

Juneteenth

A combination of the words "June" and "Nineteenth." The day that formerly enslaved people were told they were free; Freedom Day.

Liberty

The state of being free from control or restriction. The right to act, believe, or express oneself as one chooses.

Proclamation

A formal written or spoken public declaration.

Rebellious States

The 11 states that left the Union to form the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Resistance

The act or power of resisting, opposing, or withstanding.

Slavery

The institution that forced people into labor with violence.

U.S. Colored Troops

Regiments of African Americans that served in the Union army during the Civil War.