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Juneteenth is Freedom Day!

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.

Juneteenth History

Juneteenth Poster NMAAHCThe First Juneteenth

"On June 19, 1865, nearly two years after President Abraham Lincoln emancipated enslaved Africans in America, Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas with news of freedom. More than 250,000 African Americans embraced freedom by executive decree in what became known as Juneteenth or Freedom Day. With the principles of self-determination, citizenship, and democracy magnifying their hopes and dreams, those Texans held fast to the promise of true liberty for all."

National Museum of African American History & Culture

Emancipation Primary Sources

Freedom, jubilee: liberty...General Order No. 3, issued by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, June 19, 1865.