Juneteenth, officially known as Juneteenth National Independence Day, is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated annually on June 19th. It commemorates the effective end of slavery in the United States.
While President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, declaring enslaved people in Confederate states free, the news and enforcement of this decree were slow to reach many areas. It wasn't until June 19, 1865, that Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that over 250,000 enslaved people in the state were free by executive order. This day marked the true liberation for the last remaining enslaved people in the Confederacy.
Juneteenth has been celebrated by Foundational Black Americans for generations through festivals, parades, and family gatherings, and became a federal holiday in 2021. It serves as a day to celebrate Foundational Black American history, culture, and progress, and to reflect on the ongoing struggle for civil rights and equality.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk