JUNETEENTH INDEPENDENCE DAY IS AN OFFICIAL FEDERAL HOLIDAY IN CELEBRATION OF THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION

IN TEXAS ON 19, JUNE 1865

What started out as a consequential act of resistance to establish a safe haven for generations to come has now become an all new civil rights Emancipation Proclamation and now, an Inter-National Holiday.

Register for a deep dive into the here and now of what led up to Emancipation and the recognition of JuneTeenth and learn why its significant today and in the future for the Black Liberation Movement.

In 1863, during the American Civil War, Pres. Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared more than three million slaves living in the Confederate states to be free. More than two years would pass, however, before the news reached African Americans living in Texas. It was not until Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, that the state’s residents finally learned that slavery had been abolished.

Although the Emancipation Proclamation was made by Abraham Lincoln on 22 September, 1862, it was only practically effective once Confederate territory was physically occupied by Union soldiers. And that did not happen to Texas until the Civil War was over. Thus, liberation came late to Texas’ slaves.

To make matters more critical, the enslave population of Texas soared during the Civil War as slave holders fled west to try to escape the fate of Union soldiers taking their plantations and freeing their slaves. Around a quarter million slaves lived in Texas by the war’s end.

On 19 June 1865, Union General Granger arrived in Galveston with 1,800 federal troops. There, Granger read General Order Number 3 to the people of Texas that stated, “… all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer.”

All 250,000 slaves in the state were free from this moment – though there were certainly cases of slave holders initially withholding the news from their slaves. Ultimately, many of the enslaved left their former slave holders, though some chose to continue in the capacity of paid laborers. However the fundamental shift had occurred with all former enslaved / indentured in Texas now being regarded fully equal with the rest of the state’s population before the law.

The formerly enslaved Freedmen are said to have immediately began to celebrate with prayer, feasting, song, and dance. #Juneteenth became a state holiday in Texas in 1980, and a number of other states subsequently followed suit.

In 2021 Juneteenth was made a federal holiday. The day is also celebrated outside the United States, being used by organizations in a number of countries to recognize the end of slavery and to honor the culture and achievements of African Americans.  Juneteenth is short for “June Nineteenth”. In September 2020, New Jersey designated the third Friday in June as an official state holiday.

Atlanta History Center is thrilled to bring back our in-person Juneteenth celebration after two years of virtual events due to the pandemic. This year’s dynamic program will feature a series of curated experiences leading visitors across campus to explore the history of Juneteenth itself and Black innovation, life, and excellence since emancipation in Atlanta. We’ll be highlighting Black history and future in Atlanta, including politics and business in the decades since the Civil War, foodways, music, art, and more!

Previous Years

Juneteenth 2022, 2023 and 2024