Today is the anniversary of Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States, dating to 1865. On that date, Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War was over and the enslaved were now free, enforcing the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021. All 50 states and the District of Columbia now recognize it through legislation or executive action as either a holiday or day of special observance.
June 19, 1980
Juneteenth
