By Julie Johansen
On June 17, President Joe Biden declared June 19 as the nation’s 11th national holiday, Juneteenth. Juneteenth has also been known as Juneteenth National Independence Day, Jubilee Day, Black Independence Day or Emancipation Day.
This day of celebration began in Galveston, Texas in 1866 on the anniversary of the Union Army General Gordon Granger proclaiming freedom of slaves in Texas. When the Civil War ended in 1865, Texas was one of the most remote of the rebellion slave states. Slave expansion and very little presence of Union troops meant the enforcement of the emancipation had been slow and inconsistent, even though the Emancipation Proclamation had already declared an end to slavery.
Celebrations have been culturally and church centered and spread in the 1920’s and 1930’s. At first, it was mainly a food festival with music. The popularity of the holiday grew in the 1960’s with the civil rights movement and again in the 1970’s.
As of 2021, South Dakota was the only state that did not recognize Juneteenth, but now that it is a national holiday, all states will observe this holiday that began on June 19, 1866.