A brief history of Juneteenth from emancipation to national celebration
Since 2021, the U.S. has observed June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day. However, the national holiday, which marks the end of enslavement in the country, was celebrated in Black communities long before .
Here are some key events in the history of Juneteenth:
1863
Jan. 1 鈥� President Abraham Lincoln issues the as the Civil War is in its third year. The proclamation declares 鈥渢hat all persons held as slaves鈥� within the Confederate states 鈥渁re, and henceforward shall be free.鈥� However, it will take more than two years to fully implement the decree .
1865
April 9 鈥� The Civil War effectively ends when Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrenders his troops to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia.
June 19 鈥� Two months after Lee鈥檚 surrender in Virginia, 2,000 Union troops arrive in , the western edge of the Confederacy. They deliver the long overdue news that the more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in Texas are free. It also marks the for Union soldiers marching across the South, freeing enslaved people. The celebration comes to be called Juneteenth, a portmanteau of the month and day.
Dec. 6 鈥� Congress ratifies the , abolishing slavery in the U.S., providing that 鈥淣either slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.鈥�
1872
Early Juneteenth celebrations include prayer and socializing with family. Later, formerly enslaved people to Galveston to mark the day. By 1872, a group of Black ministers and businessmen in Houston buy 10 acres to create聽聽for that city鈥檚 annual Juneteenth celebration. The park remains a place of recreation, education and celebration.
1980
Texas becomes the first state to observe Juneteenth as a .
2016
Eighty-nine-year-old Opal Lee gains international attention as she advocates for a . Her activism includes a series of 2.5-mile walks from her home in Fort Worth, Texas, symbolizing the two-and-a-half years it took for news of emancipation to reach Galveston. Lee ultimately logs . She also leads an online petition, hoping to garner 100,000 signatures for the holiday. It receives 1.6 million signatures. Lee becomes known as 鈥淭he Grandmother of Juneteenth鈥� and is nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2022.
2020
Widespread summer protests against deadly police violence help fuel to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.
2021
June 18 鈥� President Joe Biden signs legislation making . The first federal observance occurs the very next day.
Illustration at top: Timeline marking the dates and events in the history of recognizing Juneteenth as a federal holiday.
