Juneteenth (a blend of the words “June” and “nineteenth”) is an annual celebration of June 19, 1865 when Union general Gordon Granger read that all previously enslaved black Texans were free. Although the Civil War had ended two months earlier, and the Emancipation Proclamation had technically freed the slaves two and half years earlier, enforcement of the proclamation had been inconsistent. Juneteenth (also known as Freedom Day, Emancipation Day, and Jubilee Day) is celebrated in major cities across the U.S., but is not yet a federal holiday.
