On June 19, 1865, nearly two years after President Abraham Lincoln emancipated enslaved Africans in America, Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas with news of freedom. More than 250,000 African Americans embraced freedom by executive decree in what became known as Juneteenth or Freedom Day.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture is a vibrant community where the hope and resilience inspired by Juneteenth lives on—a space where historical events like Juneteenth are shared. A space where history is made and new stories are told.

Juneteenth is an often overlooked event in our nation’s history. On June 19, 1865, Union troops freed enslaved African Americans in Galveston Bay and across Texas some two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

In January 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs in federal agencies that has been interpreted by various agencies as eliminating in-agency observance planning for a number of cultural remembrance events, including Juneteenth, Black History Month, and several others. Nonetheless ...

4 days ago · Juneteenth was originally celebrated in Texas, on June 19, 1866. It marked the first anniversary of the day that Black people there first learned of the Emancipation Proclamation, more than two years after it was initially issued.

Jun 17, 2011 · With the migration of African Americans from Texas to the West Coast, especially during World War II, Juneteenth simultaneously declined in Texas and grew in the emerging Black communities of Los Angeles, San Diego, and Oakland in California; Portland, Oregon; and Seattle, Washington.

Jun 19, 2015 · Juneteenth honors the end to slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. On June 17, 2021, it officially became a federal holiday. Juneteenth 2024...

Jun 16, 2021 · To understand Juneteenth’s significance, one must understand how geography, military occupation, timing, and the resilience of a proud people solidified June 19, 1865 as the date that symbolizes freedom for African Americans.

Jun 17, 2024 · Though it’s been celebrated by Black Americans as early as in the mid-late 1800s, Juneteenth is a date that was long omitted from history books—and wasn’t designated as a federal holiday until...

Jun 17, 2024 · Juneteenth has become the most well-known celebration for the ending of slavery in the United States and viewed by some as America’s second Independence Day. But the history of this important celebration is complex and often misunderstood.