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.

Originally celebrated by newly freed Black communities in Texas with religious services, barbecues and symbolic traditions like discarding clothing worn during enslavement, the holiday has since grown beyond Texas and the South.