Juneteenth recognizes the official emancipation of enslaved people in Texas on June 19, 1865, symbolizing the end of slavery in the United States. This commemoration highlights the late announcement of freedom in Galveston, Texas, two years following the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil War's conclusion.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, with 2,000 federal troops to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation and proclaim freedom for over 250,

It became a U.S. federal holiday in 2021, following the signing of a bill by former President Joe Biden.Long a regional holiday in the South, Juneteenth rose in prominence across the country following protests that swept the world in 2020 over the police killings of George Floyd,