View source for Juneteenth

{{Short description|US holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Pp-move}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Use shortened footnotes|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox holiday
| holiday_name  = Juneteenth 
| image         = File:Juneteenth flag.svg
| caption       = [[Juneteenth flag]]
| official_name = Juneteenth National Independence Day
| nickname      = {{Indented plainlist|
* Jubilee Day<ref>{{cite news |date=June 12, 1975 |title=Cel-Liberation Style! Fourth Annual Juneteenth Day Kicks off June 19. |newspaper=Milwaukee Star |url=http://www.infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/doc?p=EANX&docref=image/v2%3A12A7AE31A7B3CA6B%40EANX-12BA74AAA9B9AFB8%402442576-12BA74AAB9BFAD18%401-12BA74ABAE646B48%40Cel-Liberation%2BStyle%2521%2BFourth%2BAnnual%2BJuneteenth%2BDay%2BKicks%2Boff%2BJune%2B19 |access-date=May 7, 2020 |archive-date=June 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620204605/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/user/login?destination=doc%3Fp%3DEANX&docref=image%2Fv2%3A12A7AE31A7B3CA6B%40EANX-12BA74AAA9B9AFB8%402442576-12BA74AAB9BFAD18%401-12BA74ABAE646B48%40Cel-Liberation%20Style%21%20Fourth%20Annual%20Juneteenth%20Day%20Kicks%20off%20June%2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Emancipation Day (Texas)<ref>{{Cite web|first=Daniella|last=Silva|title=What to know about Juneteenth, the emancipation holiday|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/what-know-about-juneteenth-emancipation-holiday-n1231179|date=June 16, 2020|access-date=June 19, 2020|website=[[NBC News]]|language=en|archive-date=June 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200619043505/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/what-know-about-juneteenth-emancipation-holiday-n1231179|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|first=Kenneth C.|last=Davis|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/juneteenth-our-other-independence-day-16340952/|title=Juneteenth: Our Other Independence Day|website=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]|date=June 15, 2011|access-date=June 27, 2019|archive-date=June 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617191024/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/juneteenth-our-other-independence-day-16340952/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Freedom Day
* Black Independence Day<ref name=crs/>}}
| observedby    = United States and parts of Northern Mexico
| duration      = 1 day
| frequency     = Annually
| scheduling    = 
| date          = June 19{{efn|The holiday name is a [[portmanteau]] of ''June'' and ''nineteenth''.<ref name="auto">{{cite news |url=http://www.blackvoicenews.com/news/46366-juneteenth-celebrated-in-coachella.html |title=Juneteenth Celebrated in Coachella |date=June 22, 2011 |work=Black Voice News |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122071819/http://www.blackvoicenews.com/news/46366-juneteenth-celebrated-in-coachella.html |archive-date=January 22, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Gulevich |first1=Tanya |title=Encyclopedia of Christmas and New Year's Celebrations |date=2003 |publisher=Omnigraphics |isbn=9780780806252 |pages=188–211 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TskZAQAAIAAJ}}</ref>}}
| mdy           = yes
| observances   = [[African-American history]], [[African-American culture|culture]], and progress
| type          = [[Federal holidays in the United States|Federal]]
| significance  = [[Emancipation Proclamation|Emancipation]] of [[Slavery in the United States|enslaved people]] in the United States
| firsttime     = {{Unbulleted list|June&nbsp;19, 1866 (celebration)|June&nbsp;19, 2021 (federal holiday){{efn|First observed on Federal calendars on Friday, June 18, 2021, then Monday, June 20, 2022, per Federal law ({{USC|5|6103}}), establishing that holidays falling on a Saturday or Sunday are observed on the Friday prior (if the holiday falls on Saturday) or the Monday following (if the holiday falls on Sunday).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Federal Holidays |url=https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/federal-holidays/ |access-date=November 12, 2021 |publisher=U.S. Office of Personnel Management |language=en |archive-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110220110/https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/federal-holidays/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}}}
| relatedto     = {{hlist|[[Emancipation Day]]|[[Honor America Days]]}}
| alt           = 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.
| celebrations  = Festivals, parties, parades, church services
| startedby     = Early celebrations were held by [[Black church|Christian churches]] and the [[Freedmen's Bureau]]
}}
{{History of the United States}}
{{African American topics sidebar}}
'''Juneteenth''', officially '''Juneteenth National Independence Day''', is a [[Federal holidays in the United States|federal holiday]] in the [[United States]]. It is celebrated annually on [[June 19]] to commemorate the [[End of slavery in the United States|end of slavery]] in the United States. The holiday's name, first used in the 1890s, is a combination of the words ''June'' and ''nineteenth'', referring to June 19, 1865, the day when Major General [[Gordon Granger]] [[General Order No.&nbsp;3|ordered]] the final enforcement of the [[Emancipation Proclamation]] in [[Texas]] at the end of the [[American Civil War]].<ref name=":1"/><ref name="gates">{{cite web |last=Gates |first=Henry Louis Jr. |authorlink=Henry Louis Gates Jr. |date=January 16, 2013 |title=What Is Juneteenth? |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/what-is-juneteenth/ |publisher=[[PBS]] |access-date=June 12, 2020 |archive-date=June 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611223729/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/what-is-juneteenth/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In the Civil War period, [[slavery in the United States|slavery]] came to an end in various areas of the United States at different times. Many enslaved Southerners escaped, demanded wages, stopped work, or took up arms against the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] of slave states. In January 1865, Congress proposed the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution]] for the national abolition of slavery. By June 1865, almost all of the enslaved population had been freed by the victorious [[Union Army]] or by [[U.S. states|state]] abolition laws. When the national abolition amendment was ratified in December, the remaining [[History of slavery in Delaware|enslaved people in Delaware]] and [[History of slavery in Kentucky#Civil War|in Kentucky]] were freed.

Early Juneteenth celebrations date back to 1866, at first involving church-centered community gatherings in [[Texas]]. They spread across [[Southern United States|the South]] among newly freed African-Americans and their descendants and became more commercialized in the 1920s and 1930s, often centering on a [[food festival]]. Participants in the [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]] brought these celebrations to the rest of the country. During the [[Civil Rights Movement]] of the 1960s, Juneteenth celebrations were eclipsed by the [[Nonviolence|nonviolent]] determination to achieve civil rights, but they grew in popularity again in the 1970s, with a focus on African-American freedom and [[African-American art]]s. 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]].<ref name="Gob">{{cite web |title=Mascogos. Pueblo de afrodescendientes en el norte de México. |trans-title=Mascogos. People of Afro-descendants in the north of Mexico. |url=https://www.gob.mx/cdi/articulos/mascogos-pueblo-de-afrodescendientes-en-el-norte-de-mexico |website=gob.mx |access-date=July 31, 2017 |language=es |archive-date=July 31, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731080549/https://www.gob.mx/cdi/articulos/mascogos-pueblo-de-afrodescendientes-en-el-norte-de-mexico |url-status=live }}</ref>

The day was recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, when the [[117th U.S. Congress]] enacted and 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.<ref name="S475-SigningCeremony">{{Cite web
   |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HJW_J4o_1s  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/lUjBhwFcQ4U
   |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live
   |title=President Biden Signs the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act Into Law |website=[[YouTube]]
 |date=June 17, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

== Celebrations and traditions==
[[File: What is Juneteenth video about the House Democrats.ogg|thumb|''What Is Juneteenth?'', a 2020 video by the [[House Democratic Caucus]]]]
[[File:Performers demonstrate traditional African song and dance.jpg|thumb|Traditional African dance and music performed for Juneteenth, 2019]]

The holiday is considered the "longest-running African-American holiday"{{sfn|Knight|2011|p=}} and has been called "America's second Independence Day".<ref name="HistoricalLegacy">{{cite web |title=The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth |url=https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/historical-legacy-juneteenth |website=National Museum of African American History and Culture |publisher=Smithsonian.com |access-date=June 19, 2023 |archive-date=June 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230618092505/https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/historical-legacy-juneteenth |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NatGeo">{{cite web |title=What is Juneteenth—and how did it become a federal holiday? |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/juneteenth |website=History and Culture Explainer |publisher=National Geographic |access-date=June 19, 2023 |date=June 12, 2023 |archive-date=June 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230619235200/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/juneteenth |url-status=dead }}</ref> Juneteenth falls on June&nbsp;19 and has often been celebrated on the third Saturday in June. Historian Mitch Kachun notes that celebrations of the end of slavery have three goals: "to celebrate, to educate, and to agitate."{{sfn|Hume|Arceneaux|2008|p=156}}

Early celebrations consisted of [[baseball]], [[Recreational fishing|fishing]], and [[rodeo|rodeos]]. African Americans were often prohibited from using public facilities for their celebrations, so instead they were typically held at churches or outdoors near bodies of water. Celebrations were characterized by elaborate large meals and people wearing their best clothing.{{sfn|Knight|2011|p=}} It was common for formerly enslaved people and their descendants to make a [[pilgrimage]] to Galveston, Texas, where the announcement of emancipation had originally taken place.{{sfn|Jaynes|2005|p=}} News coverage of early festivals, Janice Hume and Noah Arceneaux state, "served to assimilate African-American memories within the dominant 'American story{{'"}}.{{sfn|Hume|Arceneaux|2008|p=159}}

Modern observance is primarily in local celebrations.<ref name=":8" /> In many places, Juneteenth has become a [[multiculturalism|multicultural]] holiday.{{sfn|Hume|Arceneaux|2008|p=158}} Traditions include public readings of the [[Emancipation Proclamation]] which promised freedom, singing traditional songs such as "[[Swing Low, Sweet Chariot]]" and "[[Lift Every Voice and Sing]]", and reading of works by noted African-American writers, such as [[Ralph Ellison]] and [[Maya Angelou]].<ref name=":8">Taylor, 2002. pp. 28–29.</ref> Celebrations include picnics, [[rodeo]]s, street fairs, cookouts, [[family reunion]]s, park parties, [[historical reenactment]]s, [[blues]] festivals, and Miss Juneteenth contests.{{sfn|Knight|2011|p=}}{{sfn|Jaynes|2005|p=}}<ref name="moskin2004" /><ref name="NYTfood">{{cite news |last1=Taylor |first1=Nicole |date=June 13, 2017 |title=Hot Links and Red Drinks: The Rich Food Tradition of Juneteenth |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/dining/juneteenth-food-slavery-abolition.html |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604150903/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/dining/juneteenth-food-slavery-abolition.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Acosta |first=Teresa Palomo |date=June 15, 2010 |title=Juneteenth |url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/lkj01 |access-date=June 5, 2020 |website=Texas Historical Society |archive-date=June 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606030833/https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/lkj01 |url-status=live }}</ref> Red food and drinks are traditionally served during the celebrations, including [[red velvet cake]] and [[List of soft drink flavors|strawberry soda]], with red meant to represent resilience and joy.<ref name="NYTfood" />{{sfn|Jaynes|2005|p=}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Amen |first=Sunyatta |date=June 10, 2022 |title=For Juneteenth, this hibiscus red drink is steeped in history |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2022/06/10/red-drink-recipe-juneteenth/ |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |access-date=November 25, 2022 |archive-date=July 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705130605/https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2022/06/10/red-drink-recipe-juneteenth/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Juneteenth celebrations often include lectures and exhibitions on African-American culture.{{sfn|Hume|Arceneaux|2008|p=156}} The modern holiday places much emphasis on teaching about African-American heritage. Karen M. Thomas writes in ''Emerge'' that "community leaders have latched on to [Juneteenth] to help instill a sense of heritage and pride in black youth." Celebrations are commonly accompanied by [[Voter registration in the United States|voter registration efforts]], the performing of plays, and retelling stories.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Thomas |first=Karen M. |date=June 1993 |title=Texas: Juneteenth Day |magazine=[[Emerge (magazine)|Emerge]] |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=31 }}</ref> The holiday is also a celebration of [[soul food]] and other cuisine with African-American influences. In ''Tourism Review International'', Anne Donovan and Karen DeBres write that "[[Barbecue]] is the centerpiece of most Juneteenth celebrations."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Donovan |first1=Anne |last2=DeBres |first2=Karen |date=2006 |title=Foods of Freedom: Juneteenth as a Culinary Tourist Attraction |journal=Tourism Review International |publisher=Cognizant Communication Corporation|location=Putnam Valley, New York|volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=379–389 |doi=10.3727/154427206776330562 }}</ref> Major news networks host specials and marathons on national outlets featuring prominent Black voices.<ref>{{cite web |title=How and where to celebrate Juneteenth 2023 across the U.S. this holiday weekend - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/juneteenth-2023-how-to-celebrate/ |website=www.cbsnews.com |date=June 16, 2023 |access-date=June 16, 2023 |archive-date=June 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616191412/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/juneteenth-2023-how-to-celebrate/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Black Seminoles]] of [[Múzquiz Municipality|Nacimiento]] in Mexico hold a festival and reunion known as el Día de los Negros on June 19.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Ferguson |first=Wes |date=June 19, 2019 |title=Why This Mexican Village Celebrates Juneteenth |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/mexican-village-juneteenth-celebration/ |magazine=[[Texas Monthly]] |language=en |access-date=June 16, 2021 |archive-date=June 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618130804/https://www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/mexican-village-juneteenth-celebration/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web
|title=Black Kos, Remember the Mascogos, Afro-Indigenous-Mexican-Americans for Cinco De Mayo
|url=https://www.dailykos.com/story/2019/5/3/1848353/-Black-Kos-Remember-the-Mascogos-Afro-Indigenous-Mexican-Americans-for-Cinco-De-Mayo
|website=[[Daily Kos]]
|date=May 3, 2019
|access-date=June 16, 2021
|archive-date=June 19, 2024
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240619183537/https://www.dailykos.com/story/2019/5/3/1848353/-Black-Kos-Remember-the-Mascogos-Afro-Indigenous-Mexican-Americans-for-Cinco-De-Mayo
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref name="El Universal">{{cite web |date=September 19, 2016 |title=Mascogos. Siempre listos para partir |url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/articulo/estados/2016/09/19/mascogos-siempre-listos-para-partir |access-date=July 31, 2017 |website=El Universal |language=es |quote=Sin embargo, la fiesta de la comunidad es el 19 de junio – el Juneteenth Day en Estados Unidos – el día que los esclavos de Galveston, Texas, supieron que eran libres. |archive-date=July 31, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731071945/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/articulo/estados/2016/09/19/mascogos-siempre-listos-para-partir |url-status=live }}</ref> 
Many former British colonies celebrate [[Emancipation Day]] on August 1, commemorating the [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833]]. 
Since 2021, the [[United Nations]] has designated August 31 as the International Day for People of African Descent.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Honouring the contributions of the African diaspora | url=https://www.un.org/en/observances/african-descent-day | website=UN.org | access-date=January 8, 2024 | archive-date=April 28, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230428191043/https://www.un.org/en/observances/african-descent-day | url-status=live }}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Abolition of slavery in the United States SVG map.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Abolition of slavery in the United States in the Civil War period (the blues and darker greens in the above map occurred before the Civil War period):
{{Legend|#97cf2d|Exclusion of slavery by Congressional action, 1861}}
{{Legend|#c7dd47|Abolition of slavery by Congressional action, 1862}}
{{Legend|#ffe86d|Emancipation Proclamation as originally issued, January 1, 1863}}
{{Legend|#f1c84e|Subsequent operation of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863}}
{{Legend|#d39c59|Abolition of slavery by state action during the Civil War}}
{{Legend|#f7b360|Operation of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1864}}
{{Legend|#f6a89a|Operation of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865}}
{{Legend|#d3595f|Thirteenth Amendment to the US constitution, December 18, 1865}}
{{Legend|#bca4b1|Territory incorporated into the US after the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment}}]]
[[File:Emancipation Proclamation.PNG|thumb|upright=1.5|Areas covered by the [[Emancipation Proclamation]] are in red. Slave-holding areas not covered are in blue.]]

On September 22, 1862, President [[Abraham Lincoln]] announced that the [[Emancipation Proclamation]] would go into effect on January 1, 1863, promising freedom to enslaved people in all of the rebellious parts of Southern states of [[Confederate States of America|the Confederacy]] including Texas.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 9, 2021 |title=Our Documents – Emancipation Proclamation (1863) |url=https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=34 |access-date=July 16, 2021 |website=ourdocuments.gov |archive-date=June 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615120507/https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=34 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=October 6, 2015 |title=The Emancipation Proclamation |url=https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation |access-date=July 5, 2021 |website=National Archives Museum |archive-date=February 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206210236/https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation |url-status=live }}</ref>{{efn|name="war powers"}}{{efn|Although the Emancipation Proclamation declared an end to slavery in the Confederate States, it did not end slavery in the places that were then deemed loyal to the Union (the [[Border states (American Civil War)|border states]] and certain counties or parishes of Virginia and Louisiana). Freedom there generally came through other methods before the end of the war. But as a result, for a short while after the fall of the Confederacy, slavery remained legal in Delaware and Kentucky.<ref>{{cite web |date=August 9, 2012 |title=10 Facts: The Emancipation Proclamation |url=https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/10-facts-emancipation-proclamation |access-date=June 19, 2020 |website=American Battlefield Trust |language=en |archive-date=December 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213141505/https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/10-facts-emancipation-proclamation |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Taylor |first=Amy |title=The Border States (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/the-border-states.htm |access-date=June 19, 2020 |website=National Park Service |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior |language=en |archive-date=June 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200619143033/https://www.nps.gov/articles/the-border-states.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Those enslaved people were not freed until the ratification of the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution]], which abolished [[chattel slavery]] nationwide, on December 6, 1865.}} Enforcement of the Proclamation generally relied upon the advance of Union troops. Texas, as the most remote state of the former Confederacy, had seen an expansion of slavery because the presence of Union troops was low as the [[American Civil War]] ended; thus, the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation had been slow and inconsistent there prior to Granger's order.<ref name="gates" /> In all June 19, 1865, was 900 days after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, 71 days after [[Robert E. Lee]] surrendered to the Union on April 9, 1865, and 24 days after the disbanding of the Confederate military department covering Texas on May 26, 1865.

===Early history===
==== The Civil War and celebrations of emancipation ====
{{further|Slave states and free states|History of slavery in the United States by state|End of slavery in the United States|Emancipation Day#United States}}

During the American Civil War (1861–1865), emancipation came at different times in different parts of the [[Southern United States]]. Large celebrations of emancipation, often called [[Jubilee]]s (recalling the biblical [[Jubilee (biblical)|Jubilee]], in which enslaved people were freed), took place on September&nbsp;22, January&nbsp;1, July&nbsp;4, August&nbsp;1, April&nbsp;6, and November&nbsp;1, among other dates. When emancipation finally came to [[Texas]], on June 19, 1865, as the southern rebellion collapsed, celebration was widespread.<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 18, 2020|title=Juneteenth and the Emancipation Proclamation|url=https://daily.jstor.org/juneteenth-and-the-emancipation-proclamation/|website=JSTOR Daily|language=en-US|access-date=May 4, 2021|archive-date=May 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505001848/https://daily.jstor.org/juneteenth-and-the-emancipation-proclamation/|url-status=live}}</ref> While that date did not actually mark the unequivocal end of slavery, even in Texas, June 19 came to be a day of shared commemoration across the United States{{spaced ndash}}created, preserved, and spread by ordinary African Americans{{spaced ndash}}of slavery's wartime demise.<ref name="gates"/>

==== End of slavery in Texas ====
{{Further|Emancipation Proclamation}}

Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation in the midst of the Civil War on September 22, 1862, declaring that if the rebels did not end the fighting and rejoin the Union, all enslaved people in the Confederacy would be freed on the first day of the year.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|title=Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, 1862|url=https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals_iv/sections/preliminary_emancipation_proclamation.html|access-date=June 3, 2020|website=The National Archives|archive-date=June 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610202334/https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals_iv/sections/preliminary_emancipation_proclamation.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the final Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that all enslaved people in the Confederate States of America in rebellion and not in Union hands were freed.<ref name=":10" />{{efn|name="war powers"|Enslaved people in Union hands had not been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation due to the limited scope of presidential "war powers". See [[Emancipation Proclamation#Coverage]] for more information.}}

Planters and other slaveholders from eastern states had migrated into Texas to escape the fighting, and many brought enslaved people with them, increasing by the thousands the enslaved population in the state at the end of the Civil War.<ref name="gates"/> Although most lived in rural areas, more than 1,000 resided in [[Galveston, Texas|Galveston]] or [[Houston, Texas|Houston]] by 1860, with several hundred in other large towns.<ref name=barr24>Barr (1996), p. 24.</ref> By 1865, there were an estimated 250,000 enslaved people in Texas.<ref name="gates"/><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Garrett-Scott|first=Shennette|date=2013|title="When Peace Come": Teaching the Significance of Juneteenth|journal=Black History Bulletin|volume=76|issue=2|pages=19–25|doi=10.1353/bhb.2013.0015 |jstor=24759690|s2cid=245657706 }}</ref>

Despite the surrender of Confederate General-in-Chief [[Robert E. Lee]] at [[Battle of Appomattox Court House|Appomattox Court House]] on April&nbsp;9, 1865, the western Confederate [[Army of the Trans-Mississippi]] did not formally surrender until June 2.<ref name="gates"/> On the morning of June&nbsp;19, 1865, [[Union Army|Union]] Major General [[Gordon Granger]] arrived on the island of Galveston<ref name="auto1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JFI3AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA929|title=Serial set (no. 3100-3500)|date=July 20, 1896}}</ref> to take command of the more than 2,000 federal troops recently landed in the department of Texas to enforce the emancipation of its enslaved population and oversee [[Reconstruction Era|Reconstruction]], nullifying all laws passed within Texas during the war by Confederate lawmakers.<ref name="auto1" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/06/18/juneteenth-holiday-history-slavery-george-floyd/|title=Juneteenth celebrates 'a moment of indescribable joy': Slavery's end in Texas|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|first=DeNeen L.|last=Brown|date=June 19, 2020|access-date=June 29, 2020|archive-date=June 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628161327/https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/06/18/juneteenth-holiday-history-slavery-george-floyd/|url-status=live}}</ref> The order informed all Texans that, in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all enslaved people were free:

{{Blockquote|The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.<ref name = "TXJ19"/>|sign=|source=}}

Longstanding urban legend places a historic reading of General Order No.&nbsp;3 at [[Ashton Villa]]; but no historical evidence supports this claim.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Ed |last=Cotham |url=https://www.galvnews.com/opinion/guest_columns/article_73af8892-f75d-11e3-8626-001a4bcf6878.html |title=Juneteenth: Four myths and one great truth |newspaper=[[The Daily News (Texas)|The Daily News]] |date=June 18, 2014 |access-date=June 29, 2020 |archive-date=June 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628042023/https://www.galvnews.com/opinion/guest_columns/article_73af8892-f75d-11e3-8626-001a4bcf6878.html |url-status=live }}</ref> There is no evidence that Granger or any of his troops ''proclaimed'' the Ordinance by reading it aloud. All indications are that copies of the Ordinance were posted in public places, including the Negro Church on Broadway, since renamed [[Reedy Chapel A.M.E. Church]].<ref name="Burnett2020">{{cite web |last1=Burnett |first1=John |title=Four enduring myths about Juneteenth are not based on facts |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/06/20/1105945119/four-enduring-myths-about-juneteenth-are-not-based-on-facts |access-date=June 21, 2022 |website=[[NPR]] |date=June 20, 2022 |archive-date=June 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621030938/https://www.npr.org/2022/06/20/1105945119/four-enduring-myths-about-juneteenth-are-not-based-on-facts |url-status=live }}</ref>

On June&nbsp;21, 2014, the Galveston Historical Foundation and [[Texas Historical Commission]] erected a Juneteenth plaque where the Osterman Building once stood signifying the location of Major General Granger's Union Headquarters believed to be where he issued his general orders.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Harvey|last=Rice|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Galveston-unveils-long-awaited-Juneteenth-marker-5569640.php|title=Galveston unveils long-awaited Juneteenth marker|date=June 22, 2014|newspaper=[[Houston Chronicle]]|access-date=June 29, 2020|archive-date=June 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629050045/https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Galveston-unveils-long-awaited-Juneteenth-marker-5569640.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

Although this event commemorates the end of slavery, emancipation for the remaining enslaved population in two Union [[Border states (American Civil War)|border states]], Delaware and Kentucky, would not come until December&nbsp;6, 1865, when the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified.{{sfn|Wynn|2009|p=}}{{efn|name="war powers"}}{{efn|name="Kentucky"|Unlike in Texas, where slavery grew during the war, in Kentucky, due largely to Union military measures and escapes to Union lines, the number of those enslaved fell by over 70%.<ref name=Harrison>{{Cite journal |last=Harrison |first=Lowell H. |date=Fall 1983 |title=Slavery in Kentucky: A Civil War Casualty |journal=The Kentucky Review |publisher=[[University of Kentucky]] |location=Lexington, Kentucky |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=38–40}}</ref>}} The federal amendment also put a definitive end to chattel slavery&nbsp;and&nbsp;indentured servitude&nbsp;in New Jersey, freeing approximately 16 elderly individuals.{{efn|The New Jersey state legislature's Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery applied to children born to enslaved mothers after July 4, 1804, but it made no provision for freeing those born before that date.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://njlegallib.rutgers.edu/slavery/acts/A98.html |title=An Act to Abolish Slavery (1846 revision) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423160013/http://njlegallib.rutgers.edu/slavery/acts/A98.html |archive-date=April 23, 2021}}</ref>}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.slavenorth.com/newjersey.htm |title=Slavery in New Jersey |author=Douglas Harper |date=2003 |website=Slavery in the North| access-date=June 17, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues/jan-june07/divided_01-25.html |title=Exhibit Reveals History of Slavery in New York City |website=[[PBS]] |date=January 25, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131223050216/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues/jan-june07/divided_01-25.html |archive-date=December 23, 2013 |access-date=June 17, 2025}}</ref> Furthermore, thousands of black slaves were not freed until after the [[Reconstruction Treaties]] of late 1866, when the Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole&nbsp;tribes were forced to sign new treaties that required them to free their slaves.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Donald A. Grinde, Jr. |author2=Quintard Taylor |author1-link=Donald A. Grinde Jr. |author2-link=Quintard Taylor |title=Red vs Black: Conflict and Accommodation in the Post Civil War Indian Territory, 1865–1907 |journal=[[American Indian Quarterly]] |date=Summer 1984 |volume=8 |issue=3 |page=212 |doi=10.2307/1183929 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1183929 |access-date=February 23, 2024 |publisher=[[University of Nebraska Press]] |jstor=1183929 |language=en |issn=0095-182X |oclc=499289594 |quote=New treaties negotiated in 1866 abolished slavery […]  The most significant accomplishment of the treaties was the liberation of 7,000 black slaves |archive-date=February 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216061123/https://www.jstor.org/stable/1183929 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Neil P. Chatelain|title=Beyond the 13th Amendment: Ending Slavery in the Indian Territory |url=https://emergingcivilwar.com/2018/07/10/beyond-the-13th-amendment-ending-slavery-in-the-indian-territory/ |date=July 10, 2018 |access-date=June 16, 2025 |archive-date=April 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407220257/https://emergingcivilwar.com/2018/07/10/beyond-the-13th-amendment-ending-slavery-in-the-indian-territory/ }}</ref>

The freedom of formerly enslaved people in Texas was given state law status in a series of [[Texas Supreme Court]] decisions between 1868 and 1874.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Campbell |first1=Randolph |date=1984 |title=The End of Slavery in Texas: A Research Note |journal=Southwestern Historical Quarterly |publisher=[[Texas State Historical Association]] |location=Austin, Texas|volume=88 |issue=1 |pages=71–80 |jstor=30239840}}</ref>

<gallery widths="180px" heights="200px">
File:Gordon Granger - Brady-Handy.jpg|Major General [[Gordon Granger]] issued General Order No. 3 formally informing Texas residents that slavery had ended.
File:General order No. 3 of June 19, 1865.jpg|[[General Order No. 3]], June 19, 1865
</gallery>

==== Early Juneteenth celebrations ====
Formerly enslaved people in Galveston rejoiced after General Order No. 3.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |date=June 27, 1974 |title=It Happened: June 19. |newspaper=Milwaukee Star |volume=14 |number=42 |url=http://www.infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/doc?p=EANX&docref=image/v2%3A12A7AE31A7B3CA6B%40EANX-12C56130F92C6210%402442226-12C5613126726070%404-12C561320D6419C0%40It%2BHappened%2B%253A%2BJune%2B19 |access-date=May 5, 2020 |archive-date=June 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620230423/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/user/login?destination=doc%3Fp%3DEANX&docref=image%2Fv2%3A12A7AE31A7B3CA6B%40EANX-12C56130F92C6210%402442226-12C5613126726070%404-12C561320D6419C0%40It%20Happened%20%3A%20June%2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> One year later, on June&nbsp;19, 1866, [[Freedman|freedmen]] in Texas organized the first of what became annual commemorations of "Jubilee Day".<ref name="TXJ19" /> Early celebrations were used as political rallies to give voting instructions to newly freed African Americans.<ref name=":5">{{cite news|date=June 13, 1976|title=Juneteenth Adds Continuity to Black Tradition|pages=100|work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49828863/fort-worth-star-telegram/|access-date=June 4, 2020|via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}|archive-date=June 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604184251/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49828863/fort-worth-star-telegram/|url-status=live}}</ref> Other independence observances occurred on January&nbsp;1 or&nbsp;4.{{sfn|Wilson|2006|p=239}}

In some cities, Black people were barred from using public parks because of state-sponsored [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregation]] of facilities. Across parts of Texas, freed people pooled their funds to purchase land to hold their celebrations.<ref name="gates" /><ref name="TXJ19">{{cite web |url=http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ref/abouttx/juneteenth.html |title=Juneteenth |website=Texas State Library and Archives Commission |access-date=July 6, 2006 |archive-date=July 18, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060718135927/http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ref/abouttx/juneteenth.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The day was first celebrated in Austin in 1867 under the auspices of the [[Freedmen's Bureau]], and it had been listed on a "calendar of public events" by 1872.{{sfn|Wynn|2009|p=}} That year, Black leaders in Texas raised $1,000 for the purchase of {{Convert|10|acres|ha|abbr=|0}} of land, today known as Houston's [[Emancipation Park (Houston)|Emancipation Park]], to celebrate Juneteenth.{{sfn|Mustakeem|2007|p=}}

The observation was soon drawing thousands of attendees across Texas. In [[Limestone County, Texas|Limestone County]], an estimated 30,000 Black people celebrated at Booker T. Washington Park, established in 1898 for Juneteenth celebrations.{{sfn|Wynn|2009|p=}}{{sfn|Knight|2011|p=}} The Black community began using the word ''Juneteenth'' for Jubilee Day early in the 1890s.<ref name=":1" /> The word ''Juneteenth'' appeared in print in the ''[[Brenham Banner-Press|Brenham Weekly Banner]]'', a white newspaper from [[Brenham, Texas]], as early as 1891.<ref>{{cite news |title=The emancipation celebration |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/brenham-weekly-banner/21078844/ |access-date=19 June 2024 |work=[[Brenham Banner-Press|Brenham Weekly Banner]] |date=25 June 1891 |page=7 |quote=There was not so many colored people in the city as usual on Saturday evening, all of them, very near, being out at the 'Juneteenth siliibration.' |archive-date=June 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240619020639/https://www.newspapers.com/article/brenham-weekly-banner/21078844/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Mentions of Juneteenth celebrations outside of Texas appeared as early as 1909 in [[Shreveport, Louisiana]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Article clipped from The Times (Shreveport, Louisiana) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-juneteenth-shreveport-la-1909/79844884/ |access-date=19 June 2024 |work=[[Shreveport Times|The Times]] |date=20 June 1909 |page=18 |quote=The entire colored population of the city is taking a holiday today, observing 'Juneteenth,' as they call it. |archive-date=June 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240619020638/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-juneteenth-shreveport-la-1909/79844884/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Decline of celebrations during the Jim Crow era====
In the early 20th century, economic and political forces led to a decline in Juneteenth celebrations. From 1890 to 1908, Texas and all former Confederate states passed new constitutions or amendments that effectively [[Disfranchisement after the Reconstruction era|disenfranchised Black people]], excluding them from the political process. White-dominated state legislatures passed [[Jim Crow laws]] imposing second-class status.<ref name=":2">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nFTlBHBFYvEC&pg=PA15 |title=Way Up North in Louisville: African American Migration in the Urban South, 1930–1970 |last=Adams |first=Luther |year=2010 |publisher=[[University of North Carolina Press]] |location=Chapel Hill, North Carolina |isbn=978-0807899434}}</ref> Gladys L. Knight writes the decline in celebration was in part because "upwardly mobile blacks ... were ashamed of their slave past and aspired to [[Cultural assimilation|assimilate]] into mainstream culture. Younger generations of blacks, becoming further removed from slavery were occupied with school ... and other pursuits." Others who migrated to the [[Northern United States]] could not take time off or simply dropped the celebration.{{sfn|Knight|2011|p=}}

The [[Great Depression]] forced many Black people off farms and into the cities to find work, where they had difficulty taking the day off to celebrate. From 1936 to 1951, the [[Texas State Fair]] served as a destination for celebrating the holiday, contributing to its revival. In 1936, an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people joined the holiday's celebration in Dallas. In 1938, Governor of Texas [[James Burr V Allred|James Allred]] issued a proclamation stating in part:<ref name=":4">{{cite book |last=Wiggins |first=William H. Jr. |editor1-first=Francis Edward |editor1-last=Abernethy |editor2-first=Alan B. |editor2-last=Govenar |editor3-first=Patrick B. |editor3-last=Mullen |title=Juneteenth Texas |publisher=[[University of North Texas Press]] |location=Denton, Texas|pages=237–254 |chapter=Juneteenth: A Red Spot Day on the Texas Calendar |isbn=1574410180|date=1987}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=Whereas, the Negroes in the State of Texas observe June&nbsp;19 as the official day for the celebration of Emancipation from slavery; and

Whereas, June&nbsp;19, 1865, was the date when General [Gordon] Granger, who had command of the Military District of Texas, issued a proclamation notifying the Negroes of Texas that they were free; and

Whereas, since that time, Texas Negroes have observed this day with suitable holiday ceremony, except during such years when the day comes on a Sunday; when the Governor of the State is asked to proclaim the following day as the holiday for State observance by Negroes; and

Whereas, June&nbsp;19, 1938, this year falls on Sunday;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JAMES V. ALLRED, Governor of the State of Texas, do set aside and proclaim the day of June&nbsp;20, 1938, as the date for observance of
EMANCIPATION DAY
in Texas, and do urge all members of the Negro race in Texas to observe the day in a manner appropriate to its importance to them.|author=|title=|source=}}

Seventy thousand people attended a "Juneteenth Jamboree" in 1951.<ref name=":4" /> From 1940 through 1970, in the second wave of the [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]], more than five million Black people left Texas, Louisiana and other parts of the South for the North and the West Coast. As historian [[Isabel Wilkerson]] writes, "The people from Texas took Juneteenth Day to Los Angeles, [[Oakland]], [[Seattle]], and other places they went."<ref>{{cite book |first=Isabel |last=Wilkerson |authorlink=Isabel Wilkerson |title=The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y03WKII5m7QC |location=New York City |publisher=[[Random House]] |date=2010 |isbn=9780679604075}}</ref> In 1945, Juneteenth was introduced in San Francisco by a migrant from Texas, Wesley Johnson.<ref name=":7">{{cite journal|first=Emily|last=Blanck|title=Galveston on San Francisco Bay: Juneteenth in the Fillmore District, 1945–2016|journal=[[Western Historical Quarterly]]|publisher=[[Utah State University]]|location=Logan, Utah|volume=50|issue=2|date=March 2019|pages=85–112|doi=10.1093/whq/whz003}}</ref>

During the 1950s and 1960s, the [[Civil Rights Movement]] focused the attention of African Americans on expanding freedom and integrating. As a result, observations of the holiday declined again, though it was still celebrated in Texas.<ref name=":5" />{{sfn|Wilson|2006|p=239}}

<gallery widths="200px" heights="160px">
File:Emancipation Day Celebration band, June 19, 1900.png|Band performing in Texas for Emancipation Day, 1900
File:Emancipation Day celebration - 1900-06-19.jpg|Celebration of Emancipation Day in 1900, Texas
File:Emancipation Day in Richmond, Virginia, 1905.jpg|Emancipation Day celebration in [[Richmond, Virginia]], 1905
</gallery>

===Revival of celebrations===
====1960s–1980s====
[[File:Juneteenth Celebration program, 1980 (49998870952).jpg|thumb|right|Flyer for a 1980 Juneteenth celebration at the [[Seattle Center]]]]

Juneteenth soon saw a revival as Black people began tying their struggle to that of ending slavery. In [[Atlanta]], some campaigners for equality wore Juneteenth buttons. During the 1968 [[Poor People's Campaign]] to [[Washington, DC]], called by Rev. [[Ralph Abernathy]], the [[Southern Christian Leadership Conference]] made June 19 the "Solidarity Day of the Poor People's Campaign".{{sfn|Wynn|2009|p=}}<ref name=":7"/> In the subsequent revival, large celebrations in [[Minneapolis]] and [[Milwaukee]] emerged,{{Sfn|Jaynes|2005|p=}} as well as across the Eastern United States.<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal|last=Wiggins |first=William H. |date=June–July 1993|title=Juneteenth: tracking the progress of an emancipation celebration |journal=American Visions |volume=8 |issue=3}}</ref>

In 1974, Houston began holding large-scale celebrations again,<ref name=":1"/> and [[Fort Worth, Texas]], followed the next year. Around 30,000 people attended festivities at Sycamore Park in Fort Worth the following year.<ref name=":5"/> The 1978 Milwaukee celebration was described as drawing more than 100,000 attendees.<ref name=":9"/> In 1979, the Texas Legislature made the occasion a state holiday.<ref name=AARP>Hochman, David (June/July 2022). "The History of Juneteenth". ''[[AARP: The Magazine]]'', p. 70.</ref> In the late 1980s, there were major celebrations of Juneteenth in California, Wisconsin, Illinois, Georgia, and Washington, D.C.<ref name=":1"/>

====Prayer breakfast and commemorative celebrations====
[[File:Al Edwards Statue.jpg|thumb|Al Edwards statue]]

In 1979, Democratic State Representative [[Al Edwards (politician)|Al Edwards]] of Houston successfully sponsored legislation to make Juneteenth a paid Texas state holiday. The same year, he hosted the inaugural Al Edwards prayer breakfast and commemorative celebration on the grounds of the 1859 home, Ashton Villa. As one of the few existing buildings from the Civil War era and popular in local myth and legend as the location of Major General Granger's order, Edwards's annual celebration includes a local historian dressed as the Union general<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.galvnews.com/news/image_151ef2ae-1e20-52d4-bd52-2ed494ebe562.html|title=Juneteenth celebrated in Galveston|first=Jennifer|last=Reynolds|website=[[The Daily News (Texas)|The Daily News]]|date=June 19, 2020|access-date=June 29, 2020|archive-date=June 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630160240/https://www.galvnews.com/news/image_151ef2ae-1e20-52d4-bd52-2ed494ebe562.html|url-status=live}}</ref> reading General Order No.&nbsp;3 from the second-story balcony of the home. The Emancipation Proclamation is also read and speeches are made.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/baytown-news/article/Galveston-to-receive-Juneteenth-statue-1865656.php|title=Galveston to receive Juneteenth statue|first1=Thayer|last1=Evans|date=June 15, 2006|newspaper=[[Houston Chronicle]]|access-date=June 29, 2020|archive-date=June 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629023317/https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/baytown-news/article/Galveston-to-receive-Juneteenth-statue-1865656.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/texas/article/Houston-legislator-recalls-fight-for-Juneteenth-6336573.php|title=Houston legislator recalls fight for Juneteenth holiday|first=Harvey|last=Rice|date=June 19, 2015|newspaper=[[Houston Chronicle]]|access-date=June 29, 2020|archive-date=June 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616123425/https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/texas/article/Houston-legislator-recalls-fight-for-Juneteenth-6336573.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Representative Al Edwards died of natural causes April&nbsp;29, 2020, at the age of 83,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Al-Edwards-former-state-rep-behind-bill-that-15234850.php|title=Al Edwards, former state rep behind bill that created Juneteenth, dies at 83|first=Jasper|last=Scherer|date=April 29, 2020|newspaper=[[Houston Chronicle]]|access-date=June 29, 2020|archive-date=April 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200430150010/https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Al-Edwards-former-state-rep-behind-bill-that-15234850.php|url-status=live}}</ref> but the annual prayer breakfast and commemorative celebration continued at Ashton Villa, with the late legislator's son Jason Edwards speaking in his father's place.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.galvnews.com/news/free/article_fa956b38-1302-50f5-8bd3-b5397bde61e6.html|title=Galveston County Juneteenth events give voice to history, even amid pandemic|first=Matt|last=DeGrood|newspaper=[[The Daily News (Texas)|The Daily News]]|date=June 19, 2020|access-date=June 29, 2020|archive-date=June 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630195742/https://www.galvnews.com/news/free/article_fa956b38-1302-50f5-8bd3-b5397bde61e6.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|first=John Wayne|last=Ferguson|url=https://www.galvnews.com/news/article_d8eab972-052d-5be2-a385-70b3c5b97918.html|title=After crises and loss, Juneteenth in Galveston 'feels different'|newspaper=[[The Daily News (Texas)|The Daily News]]|date=June 19, 2020|access-date=June 29, 2020|archive-date=June 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630061107/https://www.galvnews.com/news/article_d8eab972-052d-5be2-a385-70b3c5b97918.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Official statewide recognitions ====
In the late 1970s, when the [[Texas Legislature]] declared Juneteenth a "holiday of significance ... particularly to the blacks of Texas",{{sfn|Wilson|2006|p=239}} it became the first state to establish Juneteenth as a state holiday.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.texasmonthly.com/story/independence-day/page/0/1 |first=Anne |last=Dingus |title=Once a Texas-only holiday marking the end of slavery, Juneteenth is now celebrated nationwide with high spirits and hot barbecue |date=June 2001 |website=[[Texas Monthly]] |access-date=October 11, 2013 |archive-date=July 14, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714094154/http://www.texasmonthly.com/story/independence-day/page/0/1 |url-status=live }}</ref> The bill passed through the Texas Legislature in 1979 and was officially made a state holiday on January&nbsp;1, 1980. During the 1980s and 1990s, the holiday became more widely celebrated among African-American communities across the country and received increasing mainstream attention.{{sfn|Knight|2011|p=}}<ref name=":3" /> Before 2000, three more [[U.S. states]] officially observed the day, and over the next two decades it was recognized as an official observance in all states, except [[South Dakota]], until becoming a federal holiday.<ref name="crs">{{Cite report |url=https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44865/26 |title=Juneteenth: Fact Sheet (CRS Report R44865) |author=Smith |first=Erin M. |date=July 1, 2022 |publisher=[[Congressional Research Service]] |access-date=July 18, 2022 |version=Version 26}}</ref>

==== Juneteenth in pop culture and the mass media ====
[[Ralph Ellison]]'s 1965 short story  "Juneteenth" in the ''Quarterly Review of Literature'',<ref >Pruitt, Sarah (June 19, 2017). "[https://www.history.com/news/why-ralph-ellison-never-published-a-second-novel-during-his-lifetime Why Ralph Ellison Never Published a Second Novel During His Lifetime]," ''History''. Retrieved June 20, 2025.</ref> an excerpt from his novel in progress of the same name, brought the holiday to more widespread attention. In 1991, there was an exhibition by the [[Anacostia Community Museum]] (part of the [[Smithsonian Institution]]) called "Juneteenth '91, Freedom Revisited".{{sfn|Jaynes|2005|p=}} In 1994, a group of community leaders gathered at Christian Unity Baptist Church in [[New Orleans]] to work for greater national celebration of Juneteenth.{{sfn|Knight|2011|p=}}<ref name=":3">{{cite web|last=Chandler|first=D.L.|date=June 19, 2012|title=Juneteenth: Celebrating The Early Moments Of Freedom Today|url=http://newsone.com/2021601/juneteenth-history|website=News One (Pakistani TV channel)|access-date=June 19, 2014|archive-date=July 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718091326/https://newsone.com/2021601/juneteenth-history/|url-status=live}}</ref> International awareness arose as expatriates and U.S. military bases overseas celebrated Juneteenth in cities abroad, such as Paris.<ref name="moskin2004">{{cite news|last=Moskin|first=Julie|date=June 18, 2004|title=Late to Freedom's Party, Texans Spread Word of Black Holiday|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/18/national/18june.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=April 28, 2011|archive-date=June 24, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624083153/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/18/national/18june.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="jtcom02">{{cite web |title=The World Celebrates Freedom |url=http://www.juneteenth.com/international.htm |access-date=June 19, 2006 |website=Juneteenth.com |archive-date=December 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171217032727/http://juneteenth.com/international.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1999, [[Ralph Ellison]]'s novel ''[[Juneteenth (novel)|Juneteenth]]'' was posthumously published, increasing recognition of the holiday.{{sfn|Guzzio|1999|p=}} By 2006, at least 200 cities across the United States celebrated the day.{{sfn|Jaynes|2005|p=}}

The holiday gained mainstream awareness outside African-American communities through depictions in media, such as episodes of TV series ''[[Juneteenth (Atlanta)|Atlanta]]'' (2016)<ref>{{cite news|last=Ho|first=Rodney|date=October 25, 2016|title=FX's 'Atlanta' recap ('Juneteenth'): season 1, episode 9|url=https://www.ajc.com/blog/radiotvtalk/atlanta-recap-juneteenth-season-episode/tM9R8tdDj9LKUIch1YVbPJ/|newspaper=[[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]|access-date=June 18, 2018|archive-date=June 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618230554/https://www.ajc.com/blog/radiotvtalk/atlanta-recap-juneteenth-season-episode/tM9R8tdDj9LKUIch1YVbPJ/|url-status=live}}</ref> and ''[[Black-ish (season 4)#Episodes|Black-ish]]'' (2017),<ref>{{cite web|last=Framke|first=Caroline|date=October 4, 2017|title=Black-ish's musical episode about Juneteenth is a pointed lesson on American ignorance|url=https://www.vox.com/fall-tv/2017/10/4/16418774/blackish-juneteenth-episode-season-3-premiere-recap|website=Vox|access-date=June 18, 2018|archive-date=June 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618230233/https://www.vox.com/fall-tv/2017/10/4/16418774/blackish-juneteenth-episode-season-3-premiere-recap|url-status=live}}</ref> the latter of which featured musical numbers about the holiday by [[Aloe Blacc]], [[The Roots]],<ref>{{cite web|author=ABC News|date=October 4, 2017|title=I Am A Slave|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=68&v=M_FP7x322cc|via=YouTube|access-date=June 18, 2018|archive-date=September 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927195951/https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=68&v=M_FP7x322cc|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Fonzworth Bentley]].<ref>{{cite web|author=ABC|date=October 9, 2017|title=We Built This|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzaUTbnh_CQ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/MzaUTbnh_CQ| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|via=YouTube|access-date=June 18, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Butler|first=Berhonie|date=October 4, 2017|title='Blackish' gives a powerful history lesson – with nods to 'Hamilton' and 'Schoolhouse Rock'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/10/04/blackish-gives-a-powerful-history-lesson-with-nods-to-hamilton-and-schoolhouse-rock/|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=June 18, 2018|archive-date=July 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718144629/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/10/04/blackish-gives-a-powerful-history-lesson-with-nods-to-hamilton-and-schoolhouse-rock/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2018, [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] added Juneteenth to its calendars in [[iOS]] under official U.S. holidays.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ciaccia|first=Chris|date=February 16, 2018|title=Apple's iCal calendar mysteriously deletes Easter|url=https://www.foxnews.com/tech/apples-ical-calendar-mysteriously-deletes-easter|publisher=[[Fox News]]|access-date=February 16, 2018|archive-date=February 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216165535/http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2018/02/16/apples-ical-calendar-mysteriously-deletes-easter.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Private companies began to adopt Juneteenth as a paid day off for employees, while others officially marked the day in ceremonial ways, such as holding a [[moment of silence]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Dzhanova|first=Yelena|date=June 19, 2020|title=Here's a running list of all the big companies observing Juneteenth this year|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/17/here-are-the-companies-observing-juneteenth-this-year.html|publisher=[[CNBC]]|access-date=June 18, 2021|archive-date=June 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618201743/https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/17/here-are-the-companies-observing-juneteenth-this-year.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Duffy|first=Clare|date=June 18, 2020|title=A growing number of companies are giving employees the day off to celebrate Juneteenth|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/18/business/companies-observing-juneteenth/index.html|publisher=[[CNN Business]]|access-date=June 18, 2021|archive-date=June 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628014529/https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/18/business/companies-observing-juneteenth/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2020, additional American corporations and educational institutions, including [[Twitter]], the [[National Football League]], [[Nike, Inc.|Nike]], began treating Juneteenth as a company holiday, providing a paid day off to their workers,<ref>{{cite web|last=Brooks|first=Kristopher J.|date=June 19, 2020|title=Starting the trend for making Juneteenth a company holiday|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/juneteenth-holiday-company-trend-paid-time-off/|website=[[CBS News]]|access-date=June 18, 2021|archive-date=June 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618004319/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/juneteenth-holiday-company-trend-paid-time-off/|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Google Calendar]] added Juneteenth to its U.S. Holidays calendar.<ref>{{cite web|last=Vonau|first=Manuel|date=June 16, 2020|title=Google makes Juneteenth an official Google Calendar holiday|url=https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/06/16/google-makes-juneteenth-an-official-google-calendar-holiday/|website=Android Police|access-date=June 16, 2020|archive-date=June 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616183553/https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/06/16/google-makes-juneteenth-an-official-google-calendar-holiday/|url-status=live}}</ref> Also in 2020, a number of major universities formally recognized Juneteenth,<ref>{{cite web|last=Anderson|first=Greta|date=June 19, 2020|title=Growing Recognition of Juneteenth|url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/06/19/colleges-acknowledge-juneteenth-holiday|website=Inside Higher Ed|access-date=June 18, 2021|archive-date=June 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618005122/https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/06/19/colleges-acknowledge-juneteenth-holiday|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=LyCNN>{{cite web|last=Ly|first=Laura|date=June 20, 2020|title=Amid nationwide rallies and celebrations, more cities, states and universities designate Juneteenth as an official holiday|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/20/us/juneteenth-official-holiday-nation/index.html|website=cnn.com|publisher=CNN|access-date=June 18, 2021|archive-date=July 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210705131847/https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/20/us/juneteenth-official-holiday-nation/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> either as a "day of reflection" or as a university holiday with paid time off for faculty and staff.<ref name=LyCNN />

The 2020 mother-daughter film on the holiday's pageant culture, ''[[Miss Juneteenth]]'', featured African-American women "determined to stand on their own" while confronting sexist tendencies within their community.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Travers|first=Peter|date=June 17, 2020|title='Miss Juneteenth' Review: A Beauty Pageant, in the Eye of the Beholder|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/miss-juneteenth-movie-review-1014952/|access-date=July 18, 2021|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US|archive-date=July 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718192333/https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/miss-juneteenth-movie-review-1014952/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Becoming a federal holiday====
[[File:President Biden signs Juneteenth National Independence Day into law.jpg|thumb|right|President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law, June 17, 2021. [[Opal Lee]] is third from left.]]

In 1996, the first federal legislation to recognize "Juneteenth Independence Day" was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, H.J.&nbsp;Res.&nbsp;195, sponsored by [[Barbara-Rose Collins]] (D-MI). In 1997, Congress recognized the day through Senate Joint Resolution&nbsp;11 and House Joint Resolution&nbsp;56. In 2013, the U.S. Senate passed Senate Resolution&nbsp;175, acknowledging Lula Briggs Galloway (late president of the National Association of Juneteenth Lineage), who "successfully worked to bring national recognition to Juneteenth Independence Day", and the continued leadership of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation.<ref name="sr175">{{cite web |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-resolution/175/text |title=S.Res.175 – A resolution observing Juneteenth Independence Day, June 19, 1865, the day on which slavery finally came to an end in the United States |website=United States Congress |date=June 19, 2013 |access-date=June 19, 2015 |archive-date=July 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718091356/https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-resolution/175/text |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Juneteenth festival in Milwaukee, 2019.jpg |left|thumb|200px|A Juneteenth festival in [[Milwaukee]], 2019]]In the 2000s and 2010s, activists continued a long process to push Congress towards official recognition of Juneteenth.<ref>{{cite journal|first=E.H.|last=Turner|title=Juneteenth: The Evolution of an Emancipation Celebration|journal=European Contributions to American Studies|volume=65|date=2006|pages=69–81}}</ref> Organizations such as the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation sought a Congressional designation of Juneteenth as a national day of observance.<ref name="gates"/> By 2016, 45 states were recognizing the occasion.<ref name=AARP/> Activist [[Opal Lee]], often referred to as the "grandmother of Juneteenth",<ref name=AARP2022>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[AARP Magazine]] |title=The Grandmother of Juneteenth |issue=June/July 2022 |page=21 |author=David Hochman}}</ref> campaigned for decades to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, leading walks in many states to promote the idea.<ref name = NPR>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/06/17/1007498876/how-juneteenth-became-national-holiday|title=One Woman's Decades-Long Fight To Make Juneteenth A U.S. Holiday|last=Romo|first=Vanessa|date=June 17, 2021|work=NPR|access-date=June 19, 2023|archive-date=April 18, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418131036/https://www.npr.org/2021/06/17/1007498876/how-juneteenth-became-national-holiday|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2016–17 at the age of 89, she led a symbolic walk from Fort Worth, Texas to Washington D.C. to advocate for the federal holiday.<ref name=AARP/><ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Jackson|first=Angelique|date=June 17, 2021|title=Why 94-Year-Old Activist Opal Lee Marched to Make Juneteenth a National Holiday|magazine=Variety|url=https://variety.com/2021/politics/features/activist-opal-lee-juneteenth-holiday-1234998507|access-date=June 18, 2021|archive-date=June 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617233620/https://variety.com/2021/politics/features/activist-opal-lee-juneteenth-holiday-1234998507/|url-status=live}}</ref> When it was officially made a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, she was standing beside President [[Joe Biden]] as he signed the bill.<ref name = NPR/>

Juneteenth became one of five date-specific federal holidays along with New Year's Day (January&nbsp;1), Independence Day (July&nbsp;4), Veterans Day (November&nbsp;11), and Christmas Day (December&nbsp;25). Juneteenth is the first new federal holiday since [[Martin Luther King Jr. Day]] was declared a holiday in 1986.<ref>{{cite web |title=Juneteenth: US to add federal holiday marking end of slavery |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57493282 |access-date=June 17, 2021 |work=BBC News |date=June 17, 2021 |archive-date=June 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616032005/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57493282 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{cite news |last1=Broadwater |first1=Luke |title=Bill to Make Juneteenth a Federal Holiday Heads to Biden's Desk |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/06/16/us/politics-news |access-date=June 17, 2021 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 16, 2021 |archive-date=June 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617135314/https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/06/16/us/politics-news |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=BlackInd>{{cite web |title=Biden signs into law bill establishing Juneteenth as federal holiday |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-signs-law-bill-establishing-juneteenth-federal-holiday-n1271213 |access-date=June 17, 2021 |work=NBC News |date=June 17, 2021 |archive-date=June 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618124640/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-signs-law-bill-establishing-juneteenth-federal-holiday-n1271213 |url-status=live }}</ref> Juneteenth also falls within the statutory [[Honor America Days]] period, which lasts for 21 days from [[Flag Day (United States)|Flag Day]] (June 14) to [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]] (July 4).

== The Juneteenth Flag ==
{{Main|Juneteenth flag}}
In 1997, activist [[Ben Haith]] created the [[Juneteenth flag]], which was further refined by illustrator Lisa Jeanne Graf. In 2000, the flag was first hoisted at the [[Roxbury Heritage State Park]] in Boston by Haith. The star at the center represents Texas and the extension of freedom for all African Americans throughout the whole nation. The burst around the star represents a [[nova]] and the red curve represents a [[horizon]], standing for a new era for African Americans. The red, white, and blue colors represent the American flag, which shows that African Americans and their enslaved ancestors are Americans, and the national belief in liberty and justice for all citizens.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gagosz|first=Alexa|date=June 16, 2021|title=What does the Juneteenth Flag mean?|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/06/16/metro/what-does-juneteenth-flag-mean/|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|access-date=June 17, 2021|archive-date=June 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616221232/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/06/16/metro/what-does-juneteenth-flag-mean/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Kaur|first1=Harmeet|last2=Mullery|first2=Will|date=June 19, 2020|title=The Juneteenth flag is full of symbols. Here's what they mean|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/19/us/freedom-day-juneteenth-flag-meaning-trnd/index.html|website=[[CNN]]|access-date=June 17, 2021|archive-date=May 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520180811/https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/19/us/freedom-day-juneteenth-flag-meaning-trnd/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Legal observance ==
===State and local holiday===
[[File:Recognition of Juneteenth before 2021.svg|alt=|thumb|Adoption of Juneteenth as a commemoration or holiday in the US by states, in the years before the federal holiday in 2021 {{legend|#D95050|Recognized before 2000}}
{{legend|#F7AF43|Recognized between 2000 and 2009}}
{{legend|#286CD1|Recognized between 2010 and 2021}}
As of 2023, 24 of these states and the District of Columbia have also made it a paid holiday for state or district workers. Federal government employees in all states are covered by the federal holiday.]]

Texas was the first [[U.S. state|state]] to recognize the date by enacted law, in 1980. By 2002, eight states officially recognized Juneteenth<ref name=":6">{{cite news |last=Dart |first=Bob |date=June 19, 2002 |title=Juneteenth Crossing Nation |pages=A2 |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52773158/juneteenth-crossing-nation/ |access-date=June 4, 2020 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}} |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604185005/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52773158/juneteenth-crossing-nation/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and four years later 15 states recognized the holiday.{{sfn|Wilson|2006|p=239}} By 2008, just over half of the states recognized Juneteenth in some way.<ref name="cruz">{{cite magazine|last=Cruz|first=Gilbert|date=June 18, 2008|title=A Brief History of Juneteenth|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|url=http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1815936,00.html|access-date=May 30, 2013|archive-date=June 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603025526/http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1815936,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> By 2019, 47 states and the District of Columbia recognized Juneteenth,<ref name="Shabad">{{cite web|first=Rebecca|last=Shabad|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-democrats-introduce-bill-make-juneteenth-federal-holiday-n1231550|title=Senators propose bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday|website=[[NBC News]]|date=June 19, 2020|access-date=June 20, 2020|archive-date=June 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620055254/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-democrats-introduce-bill-make-juneteenth-federal-holiday-n1231550|url-status=live}}</ref> although as of 2020 only Texas had adopted the holiday as a paid holiday for state employees.<ref>{{cite web|first=Caleb|last=Stewart|url=https://www.whsv.com/content/news/Northam-to-designate-Juneteenth-a-state-holiday-for-Virginia-571296721.html|title=Virginia likely to become the 2nd state marking Juneteenth as a state holiday|website=[[WHSV-TV|WHSV]]|date=June 16, 2020|access-date=June 20, 2020|archive-date=June 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620201213/https://www.whsv.com/content/news/Northam-to-designate-Juneteenth-a-state-holiday-for-Virginia-571296721.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In June 2019, Governor of Pennsylvania [[Tom Wolf]] recognized Juneteenth as a holiday in the state.<ref>{{cite web|title=Juneteenth Now A State Holiday In Pennsylvania|url=https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2019/06/19/juneteenth-declared-state-holiday-in-pennsylvania/|work=CBS Pittsburgh|date=June 19, 2019|access-date=June 18, 2021|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624200256/https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2019/06/19/juneteenth-declared-state-holiday-in-pennsylvania/|url-status=live}}</ref> In the yearlong aftermath of the [[murder of George Floyd]] that occurred on May 25, 2020, nine states designated Juneteenth a paid holiday,<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 19, 2021|title=Juneteenth celebrations in the Twin Cities|work=[[Minnesota Public Radio]]|url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2021/06/19/photos-juneteenth-celebrations-in-the-twin-cities|access-date=June 21, 2021|archive-date=June 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621185341/https://www.mprnews.org/story/2021/06/19/photos-juneteenth-celebrations-in-the-twin-cities|url-status=live}}</ref> including New York, Washington, and Virginia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 16, 2021 |title=Congress approves bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday |work=Associated Press |url=https://apnews.com/article/juneteenth-congress-federal-holiday-3cc3b7a56ec97b0bae3dbdff1da092ee |access-date=June 19, 2021 |archive-date=June 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210619141126/https://apnews.com/article/juneteenth-congress-federal-holiday-3cc3b7a56ec97b0bae3dbdff1da092ee |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2020, [[Massachusetts]] Governor [[Charlie Baker]] issued a proclamation that the day would be marked as "Juneteenth Independence Day". This followed the filing of bills by both the House and Senate to make Juneteenth a state holiday. Baker did not comment on these bills specifically but promised to grant the observance of Juneteenth greater importance.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Reed |first1=Jodi |title=MA lawmakers declare 'Juneteenth' as state holiday |url=https://www.wwlp.com/news/state-politics/ma-lawmakers-declare-juneteenth-as-state-holiday/ |date=June 19, 2020 |access-date=June 21, 2020 |website=WWLP.com |archive-date=June 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622013111/https://www.wwlp.com/news/state-politics/ma-lawmakers-declare-juneteenth-as-state-holiday/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On June 16, 2021, Illinois adopted a law changing its ceremonial holiday to a paid state holiday.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Dan |last1=Petrella |first2=Alice |last2=Yin |date=June 16, 2021 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-juneteenth-illinois-state-holiday-20210616-jr5avwasirchvazar4cipkcbcm-story.html |title=Juneteenth to Become Official State Holiday in Illinois Under Bill Signed into Law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |access-date=June 17, 2021 |archive-date=June 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617065034/https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-juneteenth-illinois-state-holiday-20210616-jr5avwasirchvazar4cipkcbcm-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Some cities and counties have also recognized Juneteenth through proclamation. In 2020, Juneteenth was formally recognized by [[New York City]] (as an annual official city holiday and public school holiday, starting in 2021).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53113555|title=New York City declares Juneteenth an official holiday|website=[[BBC News]]|date=June 19, 2020|access-date=June 20, 2020|archive-date=June 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620154140/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53113555|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=May 4, 2021|title=No More Snow Days: NYC Schools Will Go Remote For Severe Weather|first=Matt|last=Troutman|url=https://patch.com/new-york/new-york-city/no-more-snow-days-nyc-schools-will-go-remote-severe-weather|access-date=June 1, 2021|website=New York City, NY Patch|language=en|archive-date=May 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508190921/https://patch.com/new-york/new-york-city/no-more-snow-days-nyc-schools-will-go-remote-severe-weather|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Cook County, Illinois]], adopted an ordinance to make Juneteenth a paid county holiday.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 22, 2020 |title=Cook County Recognizes Juneteenth as a Paid Day Off for County Workers |language=en-US |newspaper=Chicago Defender |first=Kelly |last=Washington |url=https://chicagodefender.com/cook-county-recognizes-juneteenth-as-a-paid-day-off-for-county-workers/ |access-date=June 17, 2021 |archive-date=September 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916162053/https://chicagodefender.com/cook-county-recognizes-juneteenth-as-a-paid-day-off-for-county-workers/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[City and County of Honolulu]] recognizes it as an "annual day of honor and reflection",<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 19, 2020|title=Honolulu to officially recognize Juneteenth|url=https://www.khon2.com/local-news/honolulu-to-officially-recognize-juneteenth/|access-date=June 19, 2020|website=KHON2|language=en-US|archive-date=June 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620190428/https://www.khon2.com/local-news/honolulu-to-officially-recognize-juneteenth/|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Portland, Oregon]] (as a day of remembrance and action and a paid holiday for city employees).<ref>{{cite news|first=Madison|last=Smalstig|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/06/city-of-portland-will-make-juneteenth-a-paid-holiday-day-of-remembrance.html|title=City of Portland will make Juneteenth a paid holiday, day of remembrance|newspaper=[[The Oregonian]]|date=June 16, 2020|access-date=June 20, 2020|archive-date=June 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620201213/https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/06/city-of-portland-will-make-juneteenth-a-paid-holiday-day-of-remembrance.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[North Dakota]] approved recognition of Juneteenth as a state-recognized annual holiday on April 13, 2021,<ref name="Benth">{{Cite web|url=https://www.kfyrtv.com/2021/04/13/gov-burgum-signs-bill-making-juneteenth-a-holiday-in-nd/|title=Gov. Burgum signs bill making Juneteenth a holiday in ND|first=Morgan|last=Benth|date=April 13, 2021|website=KFYR-TV.com|accessdate=June 18, 2021|archive-date=June 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618103253/https://www.kfyrtv.com/2021/04/13/gov-burgum-signs-bill-making-juneteenth-a-holiday-in-nd/|url-status=live}}</ref> with Hawaii becoming the 49th state to recognize the holiday on June 16, 2021.{{efn|In June 2020, Hawaii's first African-American [[Miss Hawaii USA]], Samantha Neyland, founded Hawaii for Juneteenth, a coalition and grassroots movement. Hawaii for Juneteenth lobbied the [[Hawaii State Legislature]] into successfully passing SB939, introduced by [[Glenn Wakai#:~:text=Glenn S., of Representatives District 31 seat.|Senator Glenn Wakai]] and signed into law by Governor [[David Ige]] on June&nbsp;16,&nbsp;2021.}}<ref name="hawaiipublicradio.org">{{Cite web|url=https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/local-news/2021-06-17/hawaii-becomes-49th-state-to-recognize-juneteenth-biden-signs-federal-holiday-bill|title=Hawaiʻi Becomes 49th State to Recognize Juneteenth, Biden Signs Federal Holiday Bill|date=June 17, 2021|website=Hawaiʻi Public Radio|access-date=June 18, 2021|archive-date=June 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617222828/https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/local-news/2021-06-17/hawaii-becomes-49th-state-to-recognize-juneteenth-biden-signs-federal-holiday-bill|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Hawaii2021-SA">{{cite news|last=Yamamoto|first=Kacie|title=Gov. David Ige signs bills recognizing Juneteenth, Kalaupapa Month|newspaper=[[Honolulu Star-Advertiser]]|date=June 17, 2021|page=B2|url=https://www.staradvertiser.com/2021/06/17/hawaii-news/gov-david-ige-signs-bills-recognizing-juneteenth-kalaupapa-month/|accessdate=June 18, 2021|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624202125/https://www.staradvertiser.com/2021/06/17/hawaii-news/gov-david-ige-signs-bills-recognizing-juneteenth-kalaupapa-month/|url-status=live}}</ref> On June 16, 2020, South Dakota Governor [[Kristi Noem]] proclaimed that the following June 19, 2020, was to be Juneteenth Day for that year only, spurning calls for it to be recognized annually, rather than just for 2020.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Kaczke|first1=Lisa|last2=Huber|first2=Makenzie|title=As Noem issues Juneteenth proclamation, some South Dakotans push for state-recognized holiday|url=https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/politics/2020/06/18/noem-issues-juneteenth-proclamation-some-south-dakotans-push-state-recognized-holiday/3212781001/|date=June 18, 2020|access-date=June 19, 2020|newspaper=[[Argus Leader]]|language=en|archive-date=June 19, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240619183434/https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/politics/2020/06/18/noem-issues-juneteenth-proclamation-some-south-dakotans-push-state-recognized-holiday/3212781001/|url-status=live}}</ref> In February 2022, South Dakota became the last state to recognize Juneteenth as an annual state holiday or observance.<ref name = US_News>{{Cite web|author=US News|title=Juneteenth Finally Official State Holiday in South Dakota|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/south-dakota/articles/2022-02-11/juneteenth-finally-official-state-holiday-in-south-dakota|access-date=May 16, 2022|archive-date=May 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516134750/https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/south-dakota/articles/2022-02-11/juneteenth-finally-official-state-holiday-in-south-dakota|url-status=live}}</ref> Its law provided for following the federal law even before it was official.<ref name=KELO>{{Cite web |date=June 18, 2021 |title=South Dakota recognizes Juneteenth holiday for state employees |language=en-US |website=KELO |url=https://www.keloland.com/news/local-news/south-dakota-recognizes-juneteenth-holiday-for-state-employees/ |access-date=June 20, 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624201618/https://www.keloland.com/news/local-news/south-dakota-recognizes-juneteenth-holiday-for-state-employees/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On May 2, 2022, Colorado Governor [[Jared Polis]] signed a bill changing the state's ceremonial observance to a state holiday and it is now the 11th state holiday in Colorado.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tassy |first=Elaine |title=Juneteenth is now a Colorado state holiday |url=https://www.cpr.org/2022/05/02/juneteenth-is-now-a-state-holiday/ |access-date=May 26, 2022 |website=Colorado Public Radio |date=May 2, 2022 |language=en |archive-date=May 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517090935/https://www.cpr.org/2022/05/02/juneteenth-is-now-a-state-holiday/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

As of 2024, 27 states and the District of Columbia have made Juneteenth an annualized paid holiday for state employees, with the remainder maintaining at least a ceremonial observance (New Mexico's personnel board declared it a paid worker holiday, although it is not a statutory holiday in New Mexico).<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44865/27 |title=Juneteenth Fact Sheet (update 27) |last=Galena |first=Devon |publisher=Congressional Research Service |date=May 30, 2023 |edition=27 |access-date=June 14, 2023 |archive-date=July 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230705012948/https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44865/27 |url-status=live }}</ref> Additional states may observe it as a paid holiday for state workers but rely on a decision, often of the governor, in each year, instead of perpetual by statute, which may or may not occur again the next year. Local governments including counties and municipalities also may close their offices and pay their workers time-off.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schaeffer |first=Katherine |date=June 9, 2023 |title=More than half of states will recognize Juneteenth as an official public holiday in 2023 |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/06/09/more-than-half-of-states-now-recognize-juneteenth-as-an-official-holiday/ |access-date=June 14, 2024 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US |archive-date=June 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614132411/https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/06/09/more-than-half-of-states-now-recognize-juneteenth-as-an-official-holiday/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The table below only includes the states with perpetual, annual, paid holiday laws identified by the Congressional Research Service in 2023 or subsequent sources:<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44865 |title=Juneteenth Fact Sheet (update 28) |last=Galena |first=Devon |publisher=Congressional Research Service |date=June 13, 2024 |edition=28 |access-date=July 18, 2022 |archive-date=July 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704042424/https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44865 |url-status=live }}</ref>

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+States and Juneteenth paid holiday
!State or insular area
!First official observance
!Paid state holiday adopted
!Notes
|-
|{{Flag|Alaska}}
|2001
|2024<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cadotte |first=Joe |date=2024-06-28 |title=With governor's signature, Juneteenth officially recognized as state holiday in Alaska |url=https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2024/06/28/with-governors-signature-juneteenth-officially-recognized-state-holiday-alaska/ |access-date=2025-06-19 |work=Alaska's News Source |language=en}}</ref>
|
|-
|{{Flag|California}}
|2003
|2022
|
|-
|{{Flag|Colorado}}
|2004
|2022
|
|-
|{{Flag|Connecticut}}
|2003
|2023
|
|-
|{{Flag|Delaware}}
|2000
|2021<ref>{{Cite web |last=McAneny |first=D. J. |title=Carney signs law declaring June 19th a state holiday before 'Grandmother of Juneteenth' |url=https://www.wdel.com/news/carney-signs-law-declaring-june-19th-a-state-holiday-before-grandmother-of-juneteenth/article_77902b1c-373b-11ec-93cc-bb80891271b4.html |access-date=February 4, 2023 |website=WDEL 101.7FM |date=October 27, 2021 |language=en |archive-date=February 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204202420/https://www.wdel.com/news/carney-signs-law-declaring-june-19th-a-state-holiday-before-grandmother-of-juneteenth/article_77902b1c-373b-11ec-93cc-bb80891271b4.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
|
|-
|{{Flag|District of Columbia}}
|2003
|2021
|
|-
|{{Flag|Georgia (U.S. state)|name=Georgia}}
|2011
|2022
|
|-
|{{Flag|Idaho}}
|2001
|2021
|
|-
|{{Flag|Illinois}}
|2003
|2021
|
|-
|{{Flag|Kentucky}}
|2022
|2024<ref>{{cite web |last1=SCHREINER |first1=BRUCE |title=Kentucky governor takes action on Juneteenth holiday and against discrimination based on hairstyles |url=https://apnews.com/article/kentucky-governor-juneteenth-5d9dd035d522cd9db53e3ceae15ba7e5#/ |website=apnews.com |date=May 23, 2024 |publisher=apnews |access-date=May 27, 2024 |archive-date=May 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240524062242/https://apnews.com/article/kentucky-governor-juneteenth-5d9dd035d522cd9db53e3ceae15ba7e5#/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|
|-
|{{Flag|Louisiana}}
|2003
|2021<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Rosato |first1=Chris |last2=Gremillion |first2=Bria |title=Juneteenth is officially a state holiday in Louisiana |url=https://www.wafb.com/2021/06/07/bill-declare-juneteenth-louisiana-state-holiday-advances-senate/ |access-date=February 4, 2023 |website=www.wafb.com |date=June 7, 2021 |language=en |archive-date=February 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204202437/https://www.wafb.com/2021/06/07/bill-declare-juneteenth-louisiana-state-holiday-advances-senate/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|
|-
|{{Flag|Maine}}
|2011
|2021<ref>{{Cite web |last=Writer |first=Gillian GrahamStaff |date=June 14, 2021 |title=Juneteenth is declared an official state holiday in Maine |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2021/06/14/juneteenth-becomes-official-state-holiday-in-maine/ |access-date=February 4, 2023 |website=Press Herald |archive-date=February 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204202420/https://www.pressherald.com/2021/06/14/juneteenth-becomes-official-state-holiday-in-maine/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|
|-
|{{Flag|Maryland}}
|2014
|2022
|
|-
|{{Flag|Massachusetts}}
|2007
|2022
|
|-
|{{Flag|Minnesota}}
|1996
|2023<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tribune |first=Zoë Jackson Star |title=Gov. Walz signs bills making Juneteenth a state holiday and banning hair discrimination |url=https://www.startribune.com/walz-signs-historic-bills-juneteenth-state-holiday-minnesota-hair-discrimination-black-history/600248992/ |access-date=February 4, 2023 |website=Star Tribune |date=February 4, 2023 |archive-date=February 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204202436/https://www.startribune.com/walz-signs-historic-bills-juneteenth-state-holiday-minnesota-hair-discrimination-black-history/600248992/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|
|-
|{{Flag|Missouri}}
|2003
|2022
|
|-
|{{Flag|Nebraska}}
|2009
|2022
|
|-
|{{Flag|Nevada}}
|2011
|2022
|
|-
|{{Flag|New Jersey}}
|2004
|2020<ref>{{Cite web |title=Office of the Governor {{!}} Governor Murphy Signs Legislation Designating Juneteenth as a State and Public Holiday |url=https://www.nj.gov/governor/news/news/562020/20200910b.shtml |access-date=February 4, 2023 |website=www.nj.gov |archive-date=September 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200911175743/https://www.nj.gov/governor/news/news/562020/20200910b.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>
|Observed on the third Friday in June
|-
|{{Flag|New Mexico}}
|2006
|2022
|
|-
|{{Flag|New York}}
|2004
|2020<ref>{{Cite web |title=Governor Cuomo Signs Legiation Designating Juneteenth as an Official Public Holiday in New York State |url=https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/news/for-release.php?idx=12246 |access-date=February 4, 2023 |website=ocfs.ny.gov |archive-date=February 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204202420/https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/news/for-release.php?idx=12246 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|
|-
|{{Flag|Ohio}}
|2006
|2021
|
|-
|{{Flag|Oregon}}
|2001
|2021
|
|-
|{{Flag|South Dakota}}
|2021
|2022
|
|-
|{{Flag|Tennessee}}
|2007
|2023
|
|-
|{{Flag|Texas}}
|1938
|1980
|
|-
|{{Flag|Utah}}
|2016
|2022
|
|-
|{{Flag|Vermont}}
|2007
|2024
|
|-
|{{Flag|Virginia}}
|2007
|2020<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foster |first=Richard |date=October 19, 2020 |title=Virginia lawmakers make Juneteenth a state holiday |url=https://www.virginiabusiness.com/article/virginia-lawmakers-make-juneteenth-a-state-holiday/ |access-date=February 4, 2023 |website=Virginia Business |language=en-US |archive-date=February 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204202421/https://www.virginiabusiness.com/article/virginia-lawmakers-make-juneteenth-a-state-holiday/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|
|-
|{{Flag|Washington}}
|2007
|2021
|
|}

===Federal holiday===
{{Infobox U.S. legislation
| name = Juneteenth National Independence Day Act
| fullname = An Act to amend title 5, United States Code, to designate Juneteenth National Independence Day as a legal public holiday.
| title amended   = [[Title 5 of the United States Code|Title 5—Government Organization and Employees]]
| sections amended = {{usc|5|6103}}
| introducedin = Senate
| introduceddate = February 25, 2021
| introducedby = [[Ed Markey]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]–[[Massachusetts|MA]])
| introducedbill = {{USBill|117|S.|475}}
| passedbody1 = Senate
| passeddate1 = June 15, 2021
| passedvote1 = [[unanimous consent]]
| passedbody2 = House
| passeddate2 = June 16, 2021
| passedvote2 = [https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2021/roll170.xml 415–14]
| signedpresident = [[Joe Biden]]
| signeddate = June 17, 2021
| effective date = June 17, 2021
| committees = [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|Senate Judiciary]]
| cite public law = {{USPL|117|17}}
| cite statutes at large = {{USStat|135|287}}
| enacted by = 117th
| leghisturl =
}}

Juneteenth is a [[Federal holidays in the United States|federal holiday]] in the United States. For decades, activists and congress members (led by many African Americans) proposed legislation, advocated for, and built support for state and national observances. During his campaign for president in June 2020, [[Joe Biden]] publicly celebrated the holiday.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-19/biden-seeks-contrast-with-trump-in-celebrating-juneteenth|title=Biden Seeks Contrast With Trump in Celebrating Juneteenth|website=[[Bloomberg News]]|first=Tyler|last=Pager|date=September 29, 2020|access-date=June 19, 2021|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624213537/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-19/biden-seeks-contrast-with-trump-in-celebrating-juneteenth|url-status=live}}</ref> [[First presidency of Donald Trump|President Donald Trump]], during his 2020 campaign for reelection, added making the day a national holiday part of his "[[Platinum Plan for Black America]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-29/trump-shines-up-a-platinum-plan-for-black-voters|title=What's in Trump's 'Platinum Plan' for Black America?|website=[[Bloomberg CityLab]]|first=Kriston|last=Capps|date=September 29, 2020|access-date=June 19, 2021|archive-date=October 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020225122/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-29/trump-shines-up-a-platinum-plan-for-black-voters|url-status=live}}</ref> Spurred on by [[Opal Lee]], [[United States racial unrest (2020–2023)|the racial justice movement]] and the [[Congressional Black Caucus]], on June&nbsp;15, 2021, the [[United States Senate|Senate]] [[unanimous consent|unanimously]] passed the '''Juneteenth National Independence Day Act''',<ref name="national_act">{{Cite web|last=|date=June 17, 2021|title=S.475 – Juneteenth National Independence Day Act|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/475|url-status=live|access-date=June 18, 2021|website=Congressional Record 117th Congress (2021–2022)|archive-date=June 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618090442/https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/475}}</ref> establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday. It passed through the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] by a 415–14 vote on June&nbsp;16.<ref>{{cite web|title=Senate unanimously passes a bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/15/politics/juneteenth-federal-holiday-senate-vote/index.html|first1=Ted|last1=Barrett|first2=Ali|last2=Zaslav|first3=Alex|last3=Rogers|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=June 16, 2021|url-status=live|access-date=June 16, 2021|archive-date=June 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615221059/https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/15/politics/juneteenth-federal-holiday-senate-vote/index.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Congress passes bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/16/politics/house-vote-juneteenth-federal-holiday-senate-passed-june-19/index.html|first1=Annie|last1=Grayer|first2=Daniella|last2=Diaz|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=June 16, 2021|url-status=live|access-date=June 16, 2021|archive-date=June 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616160046/https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/16/politics/house-vote-juneteenth-federal-holiday-senate-passed-june-19/index.html}}</ref>

[[Presidency of Joe Biden|President Joe Biden]] signed the bill ({{USPL|117|17}})<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 18, 2021|title=Bill Signed: S. 475|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/06/17/bill-signed-s-475/|url-status=dead|access-date=June 18, 2021|publisher=[[whitehouse.gov]]|author=White House Briefing Room|series=Statements and Releases|archive-date=June 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617225910/https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/06/17/bill-signed-s-475/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|first=Kathryn|last=Watson|title=Biden signs bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-juneteenth-holiday-bill-sign/|date=June 18, 2021|access-date=June 18, 2021|publisher=[[CBS News]]|language=en-US|archive-date=June 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618121306/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-juneteenth-holiday-bill-sign/|url-status=live}}</ref> on June&nbsp;17, 2021, making Juneteenth the eleventh American federal holiday and the first to obtain legal observance as a federal holiday since [[Martin Luther King Jr. Day]] was designated in 1983.<ref>{{cite web |title=Juneteenth: US to add federal holiday marking end of slavery |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57493282 |access-date=June 17, 2021 |publisher=BBC News |date=June 17, 2021 |archive-date=June 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616032005/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57493282 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="auto2"/><ref name=BlackInd /> According to the bill, federal government employees will now get to take the day off every year on June 19, or should the date fall on a Saturday or Sunday, they will get the Friday or Monday closest to the Saturday or Sunday on which the date falls.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tapp |first1=Tom |last2=Dominic |first2=Patten |title=President Biden to Sign Bill Tomorrow Making Juneteenth a Federal Holiday |url=https://deadline.com/2021/06/congress-approves-juneteenth-federal-holiday-house-vote-1234776677 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |date=June 17, 2021 |access-date=June 22, 2021 |archive-date=June 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617211525/https://deadline.com/2021/06/congress-approves-juneteenth-federal-holiday-house-vote-1234776677/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Juneteenth is observed with the closure of post offices, banks, the [[NYSE]] and [[Nasdaq]] stock exchanges and other financial markets, most government offices, and many schools, universities, and private businesses.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fortune.com/2025/06/19/open-closed-juneteenth-2025-mail-banks-stock-market-retail/|title=Here's what's open (and closed) on Juneteenth}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/18/business/open-closed-juneteenth |title=What's Open and Closed on Juneteenth 2025 |author=Ramishah Maruf |date=June 18, 2025 |website=CNN.com}}</ref>

In January 2025, President [[Donald Trump]] issued an executive order banning [[DEI|diversity, equity, and inclusion]] programs in federal agencies that has been interpreted by various agencies as eliminating in-agency observance planning for a number of cultural remembrance events, including Juneteenth, [[Black History Month]], and several others. Nonetheless, for February 2025, Trump issued the traditional presidential proclamation calling on officials to commemorate Black History Month.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/defense-agency-bans-black-history-month-rcna190189|title=Federal agencies bar Black History Month and other 'special observances'|date=February 1, 2025|website=www.nbcnews.com|access-date=May 19, 2025|archive-date=May 23, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250523050148/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/defense-agency-bans-black-history-month-rcna190189|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
{{stack|{{Portal|Civil rights movement|Holidays|United States}}}}
<!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order & add a short description as per [[WP:SEEALSO]] -->
* [[History of African Americans in Texas]]
* [[Independence Day (United States)]]
* [[List of African-American holidays]]
* [[Negro Election Day]]
* [[Public holidays in the United States]]

== Explanatory notes ==
{{notelist}}
{{Clear}}

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}

== General and cited references ==
{{Main|Bibliography of slavery in the United States}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Barr |first1=Alwyn |title=Black Texans: A History of African Americans in Texas, 1528–1995 |date=1996 |publisher=[[University of Oklahoma Press]] |isbn=978-0806128788}}
* Blanck, Emily. "Galveston on San Francisco Bay: Juneteenth in the Fillmore District, 1945–2016." ''Western Historical Quarterly'' 50.2 (2019): 85–112. [https://doi.org/10.1093/whq/whz003 Galveston on San Francisco Bay: Juneteenth in the Fillmore District, 1945–2016]
* Cromartie, J. Vern. "Freedom Came at Different Times: A Comparative Analysis of Emancipation Day and Juneteenth Celebrations." ''NAAAS Conference Proceedings. National Association of African American Studies,'' (2014) [https://blacfoundation.org/pdf/freedom-came-at-different-times.pdf online].
* Donovan, Anne, and Karen De Bres. "Foods of freedom: Juneteenth as a culinary tourist attraction." ''Tourism Review International'' 9.4 (2006): 379–389. [https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/tri/2006/00000009/00000004/art00006 link]
* [[Annette Gordon-Reed|Gordon-Reed, Annette]] (2021). ''On Juneteenth'', New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation. {{ISBN|978-1631498831}}. {{oclc|1196176524}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |title=Juneteenth |date=1999 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of African-American Literature |last=Guzzio |first=Tracie Church |publisher=Facts on File |editor-last=Samuels |editor-first=Wilford D.|isbn=}}{{ISBN?}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Hume |first1=Noah |last2=Arceneaux |first2=Janice |title=Public Memory, Cultural Legacy, and Press Coverage of the Juneteenth Revival |journal=Journalism History |volume=34 |issue=3 |date=2008 |pages=155–162 |doi=10.1080/00947679.2008.12062768|s2cid=142605823}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |title=Juneteenth |date=2005 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of African American Society |last=Jaynes |first=Gerald David |publisher=Sage Publications |pages=481–482|isbn= 9781452265414|volume=1}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |title=Juneteenth |date=2011 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of African American Popular Culture |last=Knight |first=Gladys L. |publisher=Greenwood |oclc=694734649 |pages=798–801|isbn=}}{{ISBN?}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |title=Juneteenth |date=2007 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Emancipation and Abolition in the Transatlantic World |last=Mustakeem |first=Sowandé |publisher=Routledge |editor-last=Rodriguez |editor-first=Junius|isbn=}}{{ISBN?}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Charles A. |title=Juneteenth: A Celebration of Freedom |date=2002 |publisher=Open Hand Pub Llc |isbn=978-0940880689}}
* Turner, E. H. "Juneteenth: The Evolution of an Emancipation Celebration." ''European Contributions to American Studies.'' 65 (2006): 69–81.
* Wiggins Jr, William H. "They Closed the Town Up, Man! Reflections on the Civic and Political Dimensions of Juneteenth." in ''Celebration: Studies in Festivity and Ritual'', ed. Victor Turner (1982): 284–295.
* {{Cite book |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5149/9781469616704_wilson |title=The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture: Volume 4: Myth, Manners, and Memory |date=2006 |publisher=[[University of North Carolina Press]] |isbn=978-0807830291 |last=Wilson |first=Charles R.|jstor=10.5149/9781469616704_wilson }}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |title=Juneteenth |date=2009 |encyclopedia=Freedom Facts and Firsts: 400 Years of the African American Civil Rights Experience |last=Wynn |first=Linda T. |publisher=Credo Reference |editor-last=Carney Smith |editor-first=Jessica|isbn=}}{{ISBN?}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Cotham |first=Edward T. Jr. |year=2021 |title=Juneteenth: The Story Behind the Celebration |publisher=State House Press |isbn=978-1649670007 }}

==External links==
{{sister project links|d=Q6312521|c=category:Juneteenth|wikt=Juneteenth|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no|s=Category:Juneteenth|n=no}}
* [https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44865/26 Juneteenth: Fact Sheet] [[Congressional Research Service]] (updated July 1, 2022)
* [http://www.juneteenth.com/ Juneteenth World Wide Celebration], website for 150th anniversary celebration
* [https://atlas.thc.texas.gov/Details/5507017991/print Juneteenth Historical Marker], Juneteenth historical marker at 2201 Strand, Galveston, TX
* [https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/federal-holidays/#url=2022 2022 Holidays], United States Office of Personal Management
* [https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/issues/discrimination/celebrating-freedom-juneteenth-and-emancipation-day-commemorations-richmond-va/ Celebrating Freedom: Juneteenth and Emancipation Day Commemorations, Richmond, Va.], ''Social Welfare History Project'', Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries

{{Juneteenth|state=expanded}}
{{US Holidays}}
{{Federal holidays in the United States}}
{{Texas in the Civil War NavBox}}
{{History of slavery in the United States}}
{{American Civil War}}
{{African American topics}}
{{Presidency of Joe Biden}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Juneteenth| ]]
[[Category:1866 establishments in Texas]]
[[Category:Abolitionism in the United States]]
[[Category:African-American culture]]
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[[Category:African-American history of Texas]]
[[Category:African-American history between emancipation and the civil rights movement]]
[[Category:African-American society]]
[[Category:Culture of the United States]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Culture of Galveston, Texas]]
[[Category:Emancipation day]]
[[Category:Federal holidays in the United States]]
[[Category:Holidays related to the American Civil War]]
[[Category:June observances]]
[[Category:Post–civil rights era in African-American history]]
[[Category:Presidency of Joe Biden]]
[[Category:Recurring events established in 1866]]
[[Category:Slavery in the United States]]
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[[Category:Texas in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Texas state holidays]]