Juneteenth, a holiday first commemorated in Texas, marks the date in 1865 when slaves were read federal orders freeing them under the terms of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.
The celebration takes its name from “June” plus “nineteenth,” and marks the June 19th day when Major General Gordon Granger landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and the enslaved were now free. He read from General Order Number 3 which began:
"The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer."
Known as Emancipation Day or Black Independence Day in some circles, this holiday was recognized in 2006 by the state of Ohio and is now officially observed in 47 of our 50 states.