Juneteenth is now a federal holiday in the United States commemorating emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States. The 13th Amendment actually abolished slavery on January 31, 1865 but it was not until Major General Gordon Grander of the Union Army led a force into Galveston Texas on June 19, 1865 to deliver the message that the Union won the war that freedom for the enslaved was actually enforced. African Americans have been celebrating this day for years and fighting for its legal observance. On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed a bill making Juneteenth the 11th American federal holiday.
Juneteenth
