Juneteenth

Overview

Juneteenth is an American holiday observed annually on June 19 to mark the emancipation of Black Americans. Although President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, legally ending chattel slavery in the Confederate states, word did not reach enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, until it was delivered on June 19, 1865.

The holiday began informally in Galveston and began spreading through the state and, eventually, throughout the country, due in large part to the Great Migration. It also took on different names, including "Emancipation Day," "Freedom Day," and "Jubilee Day."

In 1980, Texas was the first state to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday. In 2021, Congress passed a bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. While it faced some resistance in the House of Representatives, it passed unanimously in the Senate, leaving President Joseph Biden to sign it into law.

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Juneteenth

Overview

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