Juneteenth
2023-06-19
Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_holiday_in_the_United_States) commemorating the emancipation of enslaved (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_the_United_States) African Americans (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Americans). Juneteenth marks the anniversary of General Order No. 3 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Order_No._3) by Major General Gordon Granger (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Granger) on June 19, 1865, proclaiming freedom for slaves in Texas (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas). Originating in Galveston (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galveston), the holiday has since been observed annually on June 19 in various parts of the United States, often broadly celebrating African-American culture (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_culture). The day was first recognized as a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, when President (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States) Joe Biden (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden) signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneteenth) into law after the efforts of Lula Briggs Galloway, Opal Lee (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opal_Lee), and others.

Early celebrations date to 1866, at first involving church-centered community gatherings in Texas. They spread across the South (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_United_States) and became more commercialized in the 1920s and 1930s, often centering on a food festival (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_festival). Participants in the Great Migration (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Migration_(African_American)) brought these celebrations to the rest of the country. During the Civil Rights Movement (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Movement) of the 1960s, these celebrations were eclipsed by the nonviolent (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonviolence) determination to achieve civil rights, but grew in popularity again in the 1970s with a focus on African American freedom and African-American arts (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_art). Beginning with Texas by proclamation in 1938, and by legislation in 1979, every U.S. state (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._state) and the District of Columbia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_of_Columbia) has formally recognized the holiday in some way. With its adoption in parts of Mexico (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico), the holiday has become an international holiday. Juneteenth is celebrated by the Mascogos (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mascogos), descendants of Black Seminoles (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Seminoles) who escaped from slavery in 1852 and settled in Coahuila (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coahuila), Mexico (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico).

Celebratory traditions often include public readings of the Emancipation Proclamation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_Proclamation), singing traditional songs such as "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_Low,_Sweet_Chariot)" and "Lift Every Voice and Sing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lift_Every_Voice_and_Sing)", and the reading of works by noted African-American (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Americans) writers, such as Ralph Ellison (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Ellison) and Maya Angelou (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Angelou). Juneteenth celebrations may also include rodeos (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodeo), street fairs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_fair), cookouts (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue), family reunions (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_reunion), parties, historical reenactments (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_reenactment), and Miss Juneteenth contests. In 2021, Juneteenth became the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr._Day) was adopted in 1983.
