Juneteenth marks one of the most important moments in American history: the end of slavery in the United States.
On June 19, 1865, federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas and informed 250,000 enslaved people across the state that they were free — two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.
Though the Civil War was nearing its end, Confederate troops still held much of Texas, and the Emancipation Proclamation wasn’t enforced until the Union Army took control of the state.
Since then, June 19 has been celebrated as a day of freedom and remembrance. Texas was the first state to designate Juneteenth as a state holiday in 1890.
However, Juneteenth wasn’t recognized as a federal holiday until over 150 years after the date.
President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law on June 17, 2021, officially making June 19 a federal holiday.
“Juneteenth marks both the long, hard night of slavery and subjugation, and a promise of a brighter morning to come. This is a day of profound — in my view — profound weight and profound power,” Biden said in a speech before signing the bill into law.
Today, Americans celebrate this important holiday by attending parades, spending time with friends and family, serving Juneteenth-inspired recipes and reflecting on the true meaning of freedom.
Here’s what you should know about the meaning of Juneteenth and the history of the holiday.
When is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth is an annual celebration that commemorates June 19, 1865, the day many enslaved people in Texas learned they had been freed.
This year, Juneteenth falls on Wednesday, June 19. Many government buildings will be closed and many Americans will have the day off from work. When Juneteenth falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday will be an observed legal holiday.
What is Juneteenth?
President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, announcing that those who were enslaved “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free,” but the proclamation wasn’t immediately enforced in secessionist states like Texas, which had left the Union and joined the Confederacy during the Civil War.
It took another two years for the news to go into effect in Texas. The Civil War ended in April 1865 and two months later, on June 19, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger of the Union Army issued General Order No. 3 in Galveston, Texas, with Granger saying, “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”
Slavery was formally abolished after Congress ratified the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution nearly six months later, on Dec. 6, 1865. Freed slaves marked June 19 the following year, kicking off the first celebration of Juneteenth.
Juneteenth is also known as Black Independence Day, Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Juneteenth Independence Day or Juneteenth National Freedom Day.
Why is it called Juneteenth?
Juneteenth gets it name from combining “June” and “nineteenth,” the day that Granger told enslaved people in Texas that they were finally free.
The history and meaning behind Juneteenth
Texas was the first state to establish Juneteenth as a state holiday. The late Rep. Al Edwards of Houston, a Democratic congressman, wrote and sponsored a bill calling for “Emancipation Day in Texas” to be recognized as a “legal holiday.” He filed Bill 1016 in February 1979 and it passed in the Texas House of Representatives and Texas Senate the following May. Texas Republican Gov. William Clements signed the bill in June 1979 and the bill officially went into effect on Jan. 1, 1980.
Just days before Juneteenth in 2021, Biden signed a bill to recognize Juneteenth as the 11th federal holiday, making it the first new federal holiday since 1983 when Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created.
“Juneteenth marks both a long, hard night of slavery and subjugation and the promise of a brighter morning to come. This is a day, in my view, of profound weight and profound power. A day in which we remember the moral stain, terrible toll that slavery took on the country and continues to take,” Biden said during the signing ceremony.
Today, all 50 states, along with the District of Columbia, recognize Juneteenth as “a holiday or observance.” In February 2022, South Dakota was the last state to recognize Juneteenth as a legal holiday following in Hawaii and North Dakota’s footsteps.
How to celebrate Juneteenth
Juneteenth has grown from a national holiday into a global one with a variety of celebrations worldwide, including cookouts, festivals, marches, pageants, parades, picnics, rodeos, readings and vigils. Events commemorate African American culture, achievements and food, while honoring a monumental change in American history.
Many universities and private companies have joined state governments in recognizing Juneteenth as an official holiday. The NFL declared Juneteenth a league holiday in 2020, following in the footsteps of companies like Nike and Twitter.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com