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Juneteenth

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Juneteenth

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Also known as June teenth, Juneteenth Celebration, Juneteenth Day, Juneteenth Independence Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Cel-Liberation Day, Emancipation Day

Juneteenth, officially Juneteenth National Independence Day, is a federal holiday in the United States. It is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. The holiday's name, first used in the 1890s, is a portmanteau of June and nineteenth, referring to June 19, 1865, the day when Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War.

Key facts

Holiday.holiday_name
Juneteenth
Holiday.caption
Juneteenth flag
Holiday.official_name
Juneteenth National Independence Day
Holiday.observedby
United States and parts of Northern Mexico
Holiday.duration
1 day
Holiday.frequency
Annually
Holiday.date
June 19
Holiday.mdy
yes
Holiday.observances
African-American history, culture, and progress
Holiday.type
Federal
Holiday.significance
Emancipation of enslaved people in the United States
Holiday.alt
A large street festival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Much of the crowd is African American, and cooking smoke can be seen rising from food trucks and stands parallel to the street.
Holiday.celebrations
Festivals, parties, parades, church services
Holiday.startedby
Early celebrations were held by Christian churches and the Freedmen's Bureau
U.S. legislation.name
Juneteenth National Independence Day Act
U.S. legislation.fullname
An Act to amend title 5, United States Code, to designate Juneteenth National Independence Day as a legal public holiday.
U.S. legislation.title amended
Title 5—Government Organization and Employees
U.S. legislation.introducedin
Senate

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Wikidata facts

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Emancipation Day celebration - 1900-06-19.jpg
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Commons category
Juneteenth
Commons gallery
Juneteenth
hashtag
Juneteenth
native label
Juneteenth
inception
1865-06-19
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Article

23 sections
Contents
  • Celebrations and traditions
  • History
  • Early history
  • The Civil War and celebrations of emancipation
  • End of slavery in Texas
  • Early Juneteenth celebrations
  • Decline of celebrations during the Jim Crow era
  • Revival of celebrations
  • 1960s–1980s
  • Prayer breakfast and commemorative celebrations
  • Official statewide recognitions
  • Juneteenth in pop culture and the mass media
  • Becoming a federal holiday
  • The Juneteenth Flag
  • Legal observance
  • State and local holiday
  • Federal holiday
  • See also
  • Explanatory notes
  • Citations
  • General and cited references
  • Further reading
  • External links

Juneteenth, officially Juneteenth National Independence Day, is a federal holiday in the United States. It is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. The holiday's name, first used in the 1890s, is a portmanteau of June and nineteenth, referring to June 19, 1865, the day when Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War.

During the Civil War period, slavery came to an end in various areas of the United States at different times. Many enslaved Southerners escaped, demanded wages, stopped work, or took up arms against the Confederacy of slave states. In January 1865, Congress proposed the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution for the national abolition of slavery. By June 1865, almost all of the enslaved population had been freed by the victorious Union Army or by state abolition laws. When the national abolition amendment was ratified in December, the remaining enslaved people in Delaware and Kentucky were freed.

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