Juneteenth Freedom Day

Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States observed on June 19th.

Date: June 19

Juneteenth National Independence Day became a federal holiday in the United States in 2021 and is observed on June 19th. The holiday commemorates the ending of slavery by marking the day the last enslaved people learned they were free. On June 19, 1865, U.S. Major General Granger informed the people of Galveston, Texas that the Civil War was over and that President Lincoln had freed all enslaved people. President Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years before, but slaveholders in Texas kept the information to themselves until the Union troops arrived in the area.

The following year, in 1866, a celebration was held in Texas and has continued to be celebrated since. Juneteenth is a combination of “June” and “nineteenth.” At first, celebrations entailed formerly enslaved people returning to Galveston, with celebrations spreading across the South often as food festivals. Juneteenth is now celebrated with festivals, parades, rallies, and reflection on ongoing struggles for racial equity and social justice. It has become known as the second Independence Day.

“ 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 personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.” Major General Gordon Granger, General Orders, Number 3; Headquarters District of Texas, Galveston, June 19, 1865

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This page was last updated on: January 2, 2025.