On January 1, 1863, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. It declared that enslaved people in the states fighting against the United States were free. In Texas, however, the order changed very little at first. Few Union soldiers were in Texas to enforce it, and many enslaved people never heard about it.

The war ended in the spring of 1865. On June 19, 1865, in the port city of Galveston, Union General Gordon Granger announced an order stating that all enslaved people in Texas were free. The news came about two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

The next year, freed people in Texas began celebrating June 19 as a day of freedom. They called it Juneteenth, a blend of the words June and nineteenth. Early celebrations included prayer, speeches, music, and large outdoor meals. Some communities raised money to buy land where they could gather for the celebrations, such as Emancipation Park in Houston.

As families moved from Texas to other states, they took the holiday with them. In 1980, Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth an official state holiday. In 2021, it became a federal holiday celebrated across the United States.

Today, Juneteenth is marked with parades, festivals, and family gatherings. For many people, it is also a day to learn about history and to remember that freedom did not reach everyone at the same time.