“Juneteenth 2026” This is Something to Think About 06.19.26

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“Juneteenth 2026”

Bill Bunkley’s “This Is Something to Think About

Air Date Friday, June 19, 2026

Today is Juneteenth, a pivotal day when the enslaved population in Texas learned of President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.  

The proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863. It took until June 19, 1865, two and a half years later, when 2,000 Union Troops led by Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, ordering enslaved Texans to be free. Only two months earlier, General Robert E. Lee surrendered at the Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia.

Freedom was not enshrined in the U.S. Constitution until the 13th Amendment was adopted on December 6, 1865.

The term 'Juneteenth' is a testament to the resilience of the African American community. It is a blend of two words, June and nineteenth, and continues to be used to commemorate this significant day.

Bill Bunkley is a 20-year veteran Salem Media talk show host based in Tampa. The Bill Bunkley Show airs on weekdays from 3 to 5 pm across central Florida. Bill is also President of the Florida Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and the legislative consultant to the Florida Baptist State Convention (Southern Baptist Convention Churches), among other churches and entities. He has served as the legislative consultant to the Florida Baptist State Convention for the last 30 years at the state capitol in Tallahassee. By the Grace of his Lord Jesus, he is a cancer survivor diagnosed in 2018 with AML Leukemia, having successfully undergone a bone marrow transplant that same year. In 2025, he underwent successful open-heart surgery to repair a heart valve. His wife is Toni, his son is Zac, and he attends Idlewild Baptist Church.

Copyright © William H. (Bill) Bunkley 2026 All Rights Reserved