Juneteenth

Juneteenth
A large street festival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Much of the crowd is African American, and cooking smoke can be seen rising from food trucks and stands parallel to the street.
Juneteenth festival in Milwaukee, 2019
Official name
Juneteenth National Independence Day
Also called
  • Jubilee Day[1]
  • Emancipation Day (Texas)[2][3]
  • Freedom Day
  • Black Independence Day[4]
Observed byUnited States
TypeFederal
SignificanceEmancipation of enslaved people in the United States
CelebrationsFestivals, partying, parades, church services
ObservancesAfrican-American history, culture, and progress
DateJune 19[a]
FrequencyAnnually
First time
  • June 19, 1866 (celebration)
  • June 19, 2021 (federal holiday)[b]
Started byEarly celebrations were held by Christian churches and the Freedmen's Bureau
Related to

Juneteenth (officially Juneteenth National Independence Day) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Its name is a portmanteau of the words "June" and "nineteenth", as it is celebrated on the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when as the American Civil War was ending, Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas.[8][9] Originating in Galveston, Juneteenth has since been observed annually in various parts of the United States, often broadly celebrating African-American culture.

Early celebrations date back to 1866, at first involving church-centered community gatherings in Texas. They spread across the South and became more commercialized in the 1920s and 1930s, often centering on a food festival. Participants in the Great Migration brought these celebrations to the rest of the country. During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, these celebrations were eclipsed by the nonviolent determination to achieve civil rights, but grew in popularity again in the 1970s with a focus on African-American freedom and African-American arts. Beginning with Texas by proclamation in 1938, and by legislation in 1979, every U.S. state and the District of Columbia has formally recognized the holiday in some way. Juneteenth is also celebrated by the Mascogos, descendants of Black Seminoles who escaped from slavery in 1852 and settled in Coahuila, Mexico.

The day was recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. Juneteenth became the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was adopted in 1983.[10]

  1. ^ "Cel-Liberation Style! Fourth Annual Juneteenth Day Kicks off June 19". Milwaukee Star. June 12, 1975. Archived from the original on June 20, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  2. ^ Silva, Daniella (June 16, 2020). "What to know about Juneteenth, the emancipation holiday". NBC News. Archived from the original on June 19, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  3. ^ Davis, Kenneth C. (June 15, 2011). "Juneteenth: Our Other Independence Day". Smithsonian. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference crs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Juneteenth Celebrated in Coachella". Black Voice News. June 22, 2011. Archived from the original on January 22, 2012.
  6. ^ Gulevich, Tanya (2003). Encyclopedia of Christmas and New Year's Celebrations. Omnigraphics. pp. 188–211. ISBN 9780780806252.
  7. ^ "Federal Holidays". U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Gates, Henry Louis Jr. (January 16, 2013). "What Is Juneteenth?". PBS. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  10. ^ "President Biden Signs the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act Into Law". YouTube. June 17, 2021. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021.


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