African American Life

Juneteenth or June 19th, is the official name of federal holiday "Juneteenth National Independence Day." It is also referred to as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Black Independence Day, and Juneteenth Independence Day. The holiday commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, observed annually on June 19.

In 1863, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared more than three million slaves were free.

Over two years would pass before the news of freedom reached African Americans living in Texas.