Juneteenth 2018

Emancipation                                                                       Thomas Nast, 1865

There's no federal holiday but there will be official state celebrations of this historic national event in forty-three states today. The day itself has come to be called Juneteenth. The Library of Virginia says this about it:

[The celebration] has grown into a popular event across the country to commemorate emancipation from slavery and celebrate African American culture. Juneteenth refers to June 19, the date in 1865 when the Union Army arrived in Galveston and announced that the Civil War was over and that slaves were free under the Emancipation Proclamation. Although the proclamation had become official more than two years earlier on January 1, 1863, freedmen in Texas adopted June 19th, later known colloquially as Juneteenth, as the date they celebrated emancipation. Juneteenth celebrations continued into the 20th century, and survived a period of declining participation because of the Great Depression and World War II. In the 1950s and 1960s Juneteenth celebrations witnessed a revival as they became catalysts for publicizing civil rights issues of the day. In 1980 the Texas state legislature established June 19 as a state holiday.

For more about the history of this significant day in American history visit Juneteenth World Wide Celebration.

Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
Library of Congress at loc.gov

Text:
virginiamemory.com
loc.gov
wikepedia.com
pbs.org