WHAT IS JUNETEENTH?
Juneteenth, a combination of the words June and 19th, is also known as Emancipation Day. It commemorates the day in 1865, after the Confederate states surrendered to end the Civil War
when a Union general arrived in Texas to inform a group of enslaved African Americans of their freedom under President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.In 1980, Texas officially declared it a holiday. This year, at least 28 states and the District of Columbia will legally recognize Juneteenth and give state workers a paid day off, according to the Pew Research Center.
Although in part a celebration, the day is also observed solemnly to honor those who suffered during slavery in the United States with the arrival of the first captive Africans over 400 years ago.