CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. — Many now know the meaning behind Juneteenth, as it now a federal holiday.

But, the people who fought for decades for it to be nationally recognized are less known.

What You Need To Know

  • Lula Briggs Galloway spent decades lobbying for national recognition of Juneteenth

  • Galloway passed away in 2008

  • She once worked with former U.S. Senator and Republican Trent Lott on national recognition

Kim Roundtree is the daughter of the late Lula Briggs Galloway. Galloway is one of the people who first pushed legislators decades ago to make Juneteenth a national holiday.

Roundtree has many mementos from the days when her mother was working hard and traveling the country to raise national recognition of Juneteenth. Those mementos bring back mountains of memories.

"She was a Black Panther,” Roundtree said, recounting what set her mother on a path for racial justice. “I grew up in Black history."

Roundtree was born in San Jose, California, but she now lives in Cabarrus County, right outside of Charlotte.

One of the many artifacts she has to remember her mother is a photo taken of her mother years ago.

"That's Lula Briggs Galloway,” Roundtree explained. “She passed away in 2008."

Thirteen years later, the legacy her mom left behind came to fruition just this past week when U.S. Congress passed, and then President Biden signed, a law enacting Juneteenth a federal holiday.

"When I saw it, I thought about her, and then I got depressed, then I was crying. So, then, I started realizing she would be happy, but then she would say this is not enough," Roundtree said.

You likely have never heard the name Lula Briggs Galloway. But she was a trailblazer that pushed for national recognition of Juneteenth.

"I'm more proud of the fact that she never quit," Roundtree said as she fought back tears.

The day was especially emotional for Roundtree, who still grieves over losing her mother.

"Last year was the first year that I went through her stuff and found this stuff,” Roundtree explained, looking at all the Juneteenth-related keepsakes her mother collected. “I didn't even know I even had it until last year."

They are artifacts that detail the decades Galloway spent lobbying nationally elected leaders, such as Republican Senator Trent Lott.

"He was not Democratic, but he understood the plight of the Black folks, that's what she said," Roundtree said.

It’s an example, Roundtree added, of Galloway's persistence, no matter a person’s political party.

"This is the joint resolution in the House of Representatives," Roundtree said. "I remember her response and it has been the same as long as I remembered her, as long as you care about what I care about, I don't care."”

Another memento Roundtree now owns is a sort of yearbook that chronicled what it took for Galloway to secure national commemoration of the end of slavery.

"This is 'Juneteenth, Ring the Bell of Freedom', a book that my mom wrote," she said.

They are all examples of the lasting impression Galloway left on the country, well after she passed away.

"She was OK with it being nationally recognized, although she wanted to be a federal holiday. It wasn't as important as educating the people," Roundtree said. "She said legacy is more important than money. If you leave legacy, your money will come after legacy."