Juneteenth celebrates the U.S. Army’s enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas (and therefore the United States) on June 19, 1865.
Juneteenth in New York City 2024
The next Juneteenth is Wednesday, June 19, 2024. Most New York celebrations are on the weekend before, Friday-Sunday, June 14-16, 2024.
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Juneteenth
Texas was originally a state of Mexico. Mexico had invited settlers to populate the land. The “Texicans” wanted to implement slavery. That had been banned in Mexico since 1829, so the Texicans seceded as the Republic of Texas in 1836.
The Emancipation Proclamation ended legal slavery in the U.S. as of January 1, 1863, but that was during the U.S. Civil War (1860-1865) and Texas was one of the confederate traitors to the United States. As the war destroyed the confederate south, many plantation owners abandoned their land and fled to Texas.
The U.S. Civil War ended on April 9, 1865, but Texans continued to practice human slavery. On June 19, 1865, the U.S. Army landed in Galveston, Texas and declared that enslaved people were now free. Black Texans celebrated the first Juneteenth on June 19, 1866.
Juneteenth became a national holiday in 2021 after America was shocked by the police lynching of George Floyd in 2020. This celebration isn’t just about a day in history. It’s about moving towards the core promise of the United States that all Americans are treated the same. We are not there yet, but celebrating Juneteenth together as Americans is a step in the right direction.
More Information
nps.gov (National Park Service)
archives.gov