Sunday, June 19, marks the second official nationwide celebration of Juneteenth.

Declared a federal holiday by President Joe Biden in 2021, Juneteenth commemorates the day when the last African Americans held in slavery in the U.S. finally learned they were free.

It was June 19, 1865 — two and a half years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. 

According to the National Archives, Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration of the end of slavery

What You Need To Know

  • Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when the last African American slaves learned they were free

  • President Joe Biden officially established June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day in 2021

  • Numerous events are being held in Central Florida to celebrate the holiday

Union General Gordon Granger arrived on June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, to issue General Order No. 3, which read:
 

"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."


The National Archives points to the last sentences in the order as foreshadowing the long struggle for equal rights that would follow emancipation.

The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, formally banning slavery anywhere in the U.S. and its territories, wasn't ratified until December of that year. 

The Fifteenth Amendment, which gave African Americans the right to vote, didn't become the law of the land until Feb 3, 1870.

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. (left) and Rev. Ralph Abernathy (right) are arrested on April 12, 1963 following a civil rights demonstration in Birmingham, Ala., April 12, 1963. (Horace Cort/AP)
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. (left) and Rev. Ralph Abernathy (right) are arrested on April 12, 1963 following a civil rights demonstration in Birmingham, Ala., April 12, 1963. (Horace Cort/AP)

Nearly a century later, the civil rights movement would bring about the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting discrimination based race, color, religion, sex or national origin. The following year, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 would aim to remove obstacles many African Americans routinely faced when trying to exercise that right — harassment, intimidation, poll taxes and literacy tests.

President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act on July 2, 1964, in the East Room of the White House. (AP)
President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act on July 2, 1964, in the East Room of the White House. (AP)

But on that day in June of 1865, according to the Galveston Historical Foundation, there was an immediate sense of celebration as Granger and more than 2,000 Union soldiers arrived to enforce federal law across Texas. His men marched through the city, reading the order at numerous locations, including the courthouse and an African American church.

The origins of Reedy Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Galveston, Texas, date back to 1848, when black slaves were given the land by their white owners for a place of worship. (David J. Phillip/AP)
The origins of Reedy Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Galveston, Texas, date back to 1848, when black slaves were given the land by their white owners for a place of worship. (David J. Phillip/AP)

What took root as a local celebration soon branched out, with cities across the country hosting parades and other festivities to mark the unofficial holiday. 

Texas declared Juneteenth a state holiday in 1980, and 46 other states followed suit, before it became a federal holiday in 2021.

After signing the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, President Joe Biden speaks with Opal Lee. She's known as the "Grandmother of Juneenth" for her years advocating for Juneteenth to be declared a federal holiday. (Evan Vucci/AP)
After signing the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, President Joe Biden speaks with Opal Lee. She's known as the "Grandmother of Juneenth" for her years advocating for Juneteenth to be declared a federal holiday. (Evan Vucci/AP)