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Juneteenth (a blending of the words June and nineteenth) is the oldest known celebration of the end of slavery in the United States.
220614-F-PO640-0005.JPG Photo By: Department of Defense Education Activity

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Juneteenth (a blending of the words June and nineteenth) is the oldest known celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. It is also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day and Cel-Liberation Day. It commemorates June 19, 1865, the day that Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, and told slaves of their emancipation from slavery. Texas was the last state in rebellion, following the end of the Civil War, to allow enslavement. Although the rumors of freedom were widespread prior to this, actual emancipation was not announced in the last state practicing enslavement until General Gordon Granger came to Galveston, Texas and issued General Order #3, on the "19th of June", almost two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth is a holiday in 46 states across the nation. The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture says that the holiday marks our country’s second independence day. It has long been celebrated among the African American community.


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