Juneteenth is the commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. The celebration of June 19, as Black Emancipation Day, originated in Galveston, Texas in 1865. It has since spread throughout the United States, emphasizing the education and achievement of African Americans.

“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.”

-U.S. Major General Gordon Granger

On June 19, 1865, two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln’s historic Emancipation Proclamation, U.S. Major General Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3, informing the people of Texas that all enslaved people were now free.

Since then, people of all races and nationalities have come together to recognize a historic era, which still continues to positively influence our society.