TCXPI Presents
Juneteenth Federal Holiday
Monday, June 19, 2023
What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth is a federal holiday that celebrates and commemorates the June 19, 1865, emancipation of enslaved African Americans in Texas and the United States.
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862. But word did not reach the enslaved in Texas until years later when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger and Union Army troops headed to Galveston to enforce the proclamation to free the last enslaved Black Americans. Celebrations erupted everywhere and from that day onward, it was observed in several states. Juneteenth was made a federal holiday in 2021.
When is Juneteenth celebrated?
In 1865, Texas organized what would be an annual celebration of "Jubilee Day" on June 19, according to the History Channel. The commemorations featured music, barbecues, prayer services and other activities still used today. A decade and a half later in 1979, Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth an official holiday, with several other states following.
Why do we celebrate Juneteenth?
Juneteenth is a very important day in African American history.
"Juneteenth is a day of profound weight and power. A day in which we remember the moral stain and terrible toll of slavery on our country – what I’ve long called America’s original sin," Biden said in his 2021 proclamation. "A long legacy of systemic racism, inequality, and inhumanity. But it is a day that also reminds us of our incredible capacity to heal, hope, and emerge from our darkest moments with purpose and resolve."
Source: https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/historical-legacy-juneteenth
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