Juneteenth is the first national holiday established since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.
It came after the summer of 2020 saw nationwide protests spurred by the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union Army Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3 in Galveston, Texas.
The order stated that “in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”
In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
Many think Lincoln’s order freed all enslaved people. But it only applied to states that had seceded from the U.S.
In those states, freeing enslaved people on paper didn’t necessarily translate to real life. Many rebellious states resisted Lincoln’s order, including Texas.
Texans have kept Juneteenth alive for generations. Opal Lee grew up celebrating it in Marshall, Texas.
Lee campaigned for Juneteenth to become a federal holiday for decades.
She even walked from Forth Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C., figuring “maybe, if an old lady started out, somebody would take notice.”
Unity, freedom is what Juneteenth is all about. So I decided that I would walk from Fort Worth to Washington D.C., doing two and a half miles in the morning and two and a half in the afternoon to symbolize that in Texas, the enslaved didn’t know they were free for two and a half years after everybody else.
Galveston, Texas, holds annual Juneteenth parades. Other communities may have block parties or commemorate the day with big meals or pageants.
Food and drink varies, too, although barbecue is a popular option. You might notice red is a popular color choice.