06/20/2026
Happy Juneteenth! Juneteenth, combining the words "June" and "Nineteenth," is an annual Federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States and honoring Black resilience, culture, and achievements.
Also known as Freedom Day, it marks the exact date—June 19, 1865—when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce that enslaved people were free, thereby fully enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years after it was actually signed.
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862 and went into effect on January 1, 1863. However, slaves were not set free in the Confederacy until the Union army was able to come in and take over in all areas.
On June 18, 1865, the Union army finally arrived in Galveston, Texas. The next day, June 19th, General Gordon Granger announced that the slaves in Texas were free by order of the President of the United States.
The former slaves in Galveston celebrated the day that they were set free. The first official Juneteenth celebration took place the very next year.
The annual celebration began to spread throughout Texas and surrounding states.
In 1980, it became an official state holiday in Texas, and more states followed. And in 2021, it became a Federal holiday.
