Juneteenth

While celebrated for over 150 years in some Black American communities, Juneteenth is a relatively new holiday for “mainstream” America. Juneteenth (the holiday's name is a combination of the words "June" and "nineteenth"), or Freedom Day, marks the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger and Union Army troops marched to Galveston, Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation and free the last enslaved Black Americans in Texas—over two years after the Proclamation had been issued.

The soundtrack of America can often be heard in the sounds of music icons such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, Little Richard, and so many other countless Black American musicians. African Americans’ musical influence can be seen in virtually all music genres.

Today we celebrate a complex date. There’s the power, joy, and creativity of generations, and there’s the pain, hate, and violence of centuries.

The shorthand explanation of Juneteenth, formally established as a federal holiday in the United States just last year, is that it commemorates the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans, while also honoring their resilience and celebrating the breadth and scope of their cultural contributions. The date itself marks the anniversary of General Order No.

Juneteenth 2021 It took 156 years but Juneteenth was finally made a Federal Holiday in 2021. In a rare show of bipartisan unity, Congress voted almost unanimously to consecrate the date in which Texas slaves were notified of the emancipation (two years after it had been promulgated).