Today is Juneteenth—the commemoration of the day in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation, more than two years after it was issued. While slavery did not fully end across the U.S. until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment later that year, Juneteenth stands as a powerful symbol of liberation—and of the enduring triumph of justice and human dignity over the cruelty of slavery. It’s also a time to honor the courage of those who fought for that freedom. Sergeant William H. Carney of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was one of those heroes. Born into slavery in Virginia, escaping to freedom in Massachusetts via the Underground Railroad, he volunteered to serve in the Union Army and fought in the Battle of Fort Wagner. During the assault on the fort when the color guard was killed, Carney recovered the flag and carried it to the walls of the fort, where he planted it on the parapet, despite being seriously wounded multiple time...