Juneteenth (short for June 19th), commemorates the effective end of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people were freed. This event happened nearly two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth honors the end of slavery in America and is considered the longest-running African holiday. On June 17, 2021, Juneteenth officially became a federal holiday. 

Confederate General Robert E. Lee had surrendered in Virginia two years prior to Juneteenth. However, slavery remained nearly fully intact in Texas – until U.S. General Gordon Granger stood on Texas soil and read General Orders No. 3: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.” While the Emancipation Proclamation established that all slaves in Confederate-controlled areas were freed, it did not apply to rebel areas under Union control or slave-holding border states. In Texas, slavery continued on – in fact, many enslavers from other states moved to the Lone Star State for this reason, seeing it as a safe haven. On Juneteenth, we honor the lives of these slaves, as well as the resilience and fighting spirit of the Black community.