Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 freed enslaved people in Confederate states, but it did not immediately end slavery in places such as Texas that remained under Confederate control. Two and a half years later, on June 19, 1865, Union troops led by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in the state were free. Today we celebrate freedom, and honor the resilience and achievements of the African American community.
