Juneteenth is the nation’s newest federal holiday. As such, many remain unfamiliar with its history and unique place in society.

June 19, 2023 marks the 158th anniversary of the last African American slaves being freed in Texas. In 2021, President Joe Biden signed the law designating Juneteenth National Independence Day as a federal holiday. It was the first federal holiday approved since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.

The proclamation noting the establishment of Juneteenth noted:

“On Juneteenth, we recommit ourselves to the work of equity, equality, and justice. And we celebrate the centuries of struggle, courage, and hope that have brought us to this time of progress and possibility. That work has been led throughout our history by abolitionists and educators, civil rights advocates and lawyers, courageous activists and trade unionists, public officials, and everyday Americans who have helped make real the ideals of our founding documents for all.”

What is Juneteenth?

On June 19, 1865, federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to take control of the state to ensure all enslaved people were free. This was two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect in January 1863. The day, the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavey in the U.S. has become a day for African Americans to not only celebrate their freedoms but also their history, culture and achievements.

What is Juneteenth?

The word “Juneteenth” is a combination of June and 19, which is when the holiday is celebrated – June 19th. This year, that falls on a Monday.

On June 19, 1865, the announcement was made that tens of thousands of African-Americans in Texas had been emancipated, closing the door on one of the last chapters of slavery in the U.S.

Juneteenth traces its origins back to Galveston, Texas where on June 19, 1865 Union soldiers, led by Major Gen. Gordon Granger landed in the city with news that the Civil War had ended and slaves were now free. The announcement came two-and-a-half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamationof Jan. 1, 1863 that freed slaves in Confederate states. However, since that proclamation was made during the Civil War, it was ignored by Confederate states and it wasn’t until the end of the war that the Executive Order was enforced in the South.

Granger delivered the news himself, reading General Order Number 3:

“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer.”

The day’s name is in honor of the date of Granger’s announcement and first appeared around 1903. It is also known as African American Freedom Day or Emancipation Day.

The day was celebrated occasionally until it was revived during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.