Juneteenth, is celebrated each year on June 19th to mark the day in 1865 when union troops arrived in Galveston, TX to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation and free the last enslaved Black people in America. The proclamation was actually issued two years prior in 1963 by President Abraham Lincoln.

The idea that enslaved people in Texas were completely unaware of their freedoms is a common myth. Many enslaved individuals already new about the proclamation but remained in bondage due to resistance from slaveholders. Juneteenth is often referred to as “Freedom Day”, symbolizing the delayed but hard-fought liberation of Black people in America.

Thanks to decades of advocacy a retired teacher, Opal Lee, witnessed her dream come true when Juneteenth became a national holiday on June 17, 2021, under the Biden administration. Although Black communities had been celebrating it for generations. Opal Lee received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on May 3, 2024. It is America’s highest civilian honor. The holiday is now celebrated with parades, cookouts, cultural performances, and historical reflections. These are the many ways Black people can ensure the legacy of emancipation is never forgotten.