Juneteenth

What is Juneteenth (June Nineteenth)?

On the 1st of January 1863, President Abraham Lincoln formally issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which called upon the Union army to liberate all enslaved people. 

On the 19th of June 1865, the Emancipation Proclamation was put into effect and enslaved African-Americans in Galveston, Texas were freed. General Gordon Granger read the General Orders No. 3: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”

In 1872, Emancipation Park Conservancy was established by a group of African-American ministers and businessmen in Houston.

In June 2021, a 5,000 square-foot mural, entitled “Absolute Equality” was unveiled on the spot that enslaved African-Americans were informed of their freedom. Houston based artist Reginald Charles Adams and his team are behind the masterpiece. 

On the 17th of June 2021, Juneteenth became the 11th holiday recognised by the federal government.