Juneteenth is this week. When did Juneteenth become a federal holiday? Why do we celebrate?
Juneteenth is this week. The holiday marking the official end of slavery is celebrated annually on June 19, but only became recognized as a federal holiday a few years ago.
Here's what to know.
Yes. It's the youngest federal holiday and rose to prominence in 2020.
Texas became the first U.S. state to recognize Juneteenth as a holiday in 1980. After more than a million signatures were collected to make it a federally-recognized holiday; President Joe Biden declared it so in 2021.
More Juneteenth news: Could Trump end Juneteenth as a federal holiday? The short answer: Not on his own
Story continues after photo gallery.
For 2025, Juneteenth falls on Thursday, June 19. Regardless of the day of the week, Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19 annually.
Juneteenth – also called Emancipation Day, Freedom Day or Jubilee Day – commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, received news that they were free, two years after Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.
Like all federal holidays, banks, the post office and public libraries will not be open Juneteenth.
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Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What is closed on Juneteenth? Here's what to know about banks, mail and more in Arizona
Juneteenth is coming up on June 19, giving Americans a chance to celebrate the country's second independence day. The name of the holiday combines "June" and "nineteenth." It is also known as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Juneteenth Independence Day and Black Independence Day, according to the Congressional Research Service. Juneteenth was first observed in 1866, but the holiday spread across the country as African Americans migrated away from the South. More than half of the states now recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday, according to the Pew Research Center. In 2016, the Arizona Legislature passed a law commemorating Juneteenth with a day of observance. Here's what to know about the holiday and what is open and closed on June 19. Juneteenth is held annually on June 19. The date will land on a Thursday in 2025. Events: Celebrate Black excellence at these Juneteenth 2025 events in metro Phoenix On June 19, 1865, enslaved African Americans in the Galveston area of Texas learned of their freedom. The news came two and half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, and more than two months after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, bringing an end to the Civil War. Enslavers were responsible for telling the enslaved they were free, but some ignored the directive. This event gave rise to the Juneteenth holiday. Juneteenth is a USPS holiday, according to the agency's website, meaning mail will not be delivered and post offices will be closed for retail transactions on June 19. Priority Mail Express is available 365 days a year, including federal holidays. UPS pickup and delivery services will be available on Juneteenth. UPS Store locations may be closed, according the company's website. Check with your local store for specific hours of operation. UPS Express Critical service is available 365 days a year, according to the company' website. Visit or call 1-800-714-8779 for more information. Opinion: However you celebrate Juneteenth, do it now. It might not be a holiday forever Juneteenth is a Federal Reserve bank holiday, USA TODAY reports, meaning most banks, such as Wells Fargo, Citibank, Bank of America, Truist and others, will also be closed on June 19. All of FedEx's pickup and delivery services will be available on Juneteenth, according to the company's website. FedEx Custom Critical, however, is available 24/7, according to the company. Walmart, Target and Costco will be open on Juneteenth, however, it's recommended to check with your local store for specific hours, as they may vary by location. Here are more grocery stores that plan to keep its doors open on June 19: Trader Joe's Target Aldi Whole Foods Walmart Costco Sam's Club Fry's Safeway In addition to retail stores, fast food restaurants like McDonald's and Chick-fil-A will also remain open. The New York Stock Exchange is closed on federal holidays and will be closed on Juneteenth, according to its website. USA TODAY Network reporter Alex Perry contributed to this article. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What is closed on Juneteenth? Here's what to know in Arizona
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
Morgan State University archivist explains the significance of Juneteenth
June 19, 1865, can be described as a day of freedom. It's the day enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned they were free. "It had to take physical people to travel nearly 2,000 miles from the east coast to almost the west coast to carry the word," said Dr. Ida Jones, the Morgan State University archivist. "It wasn't simply going to be done by fiat. You almost had to wrangle people into accepting the new law of the land." Dr. Jones said the day followed multiple African American liberation movements. "In 1808, there was the celebration of the international slave trade," Dr. Jones said. "In the 1830s, the abolition of enslavement in English-speaking territories in the Caribbean." Why is Juneteenth important? Dr. Jones said Juneteenth allowed enslaved people to celebrate their freedom and their identities, being African and American. By the 1870s, she said, Baltimore City held a parade in honor of the holiday. "Baltimore, being the largest free antebellum pre-civil war free population, it's going to have a double celebration because they were already helping to subvert the system by eh Underground Railroad," Dr. Jones said. How to celebrate Juneteenth Dr. Jones said as we celebrate, it's important to party with a purpose. "I'd encourage you to visit a museum to kind of understand the history and not be so academic and stiff, but to really kind of understand the lived experience of our freedom," she said. Dr. Jones said Juneteenth allows everyone to understand how we got here and recognize the sacrifices for our freedom. "We need to defend ourselves with proper intellectual nutrition, which is knowing the origin of these stories," Dr. Jones said. Dr. Jones said learning about the history behind Juneteenth helps us to understand collective ancestry, collective sacrifice, as well as being born in this time. "Unlike those generations prior to us, they did not have the latitude to do certain things, but they didn't see us coming," Dr. Jones said. They had generations coming who would live these wild and crazy dreams. As we party on tomorrow, or rest on tomorrow, or visit the Reginald Lewis on tomorrow... that we can actually appreciate those individuals who thought it's not robbery to think of the rest of us, to raise our consciousness to a level of being true Americans and true patriots."
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
What does Juneteenth celebrate? Meaning and origins, explained
What does Juneteenth celebrate? Meaning and origins, explained This Thursday marks 160 years since the origin of Juneteenth, which commemorates the day the last group of enslaved people found out they had been freed. Long a holiday in the Black community and now federally recognized, the celebrations kick off each June 19, allowing people to gather, dance, reenact pivotal moments in history, and more. Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom and opportunity, said Sam Collins, who is on the trustee board for the Rosenberg Library in Galveston, often called 'Professor Juneteenth.' 'It's not so much about slavery as it is about the freedom from slavery and what it allowed for the former enslaved people to live their lives free, to marry, to learn to read, to educate themselves, to have self agency over their bodies, to keep their families together,' he told USA TODAY on June 10. Here's what to know about Juneteenth, how it began, and how it's celebrated today. How did Juneteenth get its start? Juneteenth is a commemoration of the events that took place 160 years ago in Galveston, Texas, about 57 miles southeast of Houston. Calling it an 'often overlooked event in our nation's history,' the National Museum of African American History said Juneteenth occurred two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in rebellious states. That day, on June 19, 1865, Union troops freed enslaved African Americans in Galveston Bay and across Texas. 'This is American history, world history, Texas history, and most of all, Galveston history, because Galveston, Texas is the birthplace of Juneteenth,' said Collins, a seventh generation Texan. Collins said formerly enslaved people celebrated after June 1865, but festivities died off for a while. In 1879, politician Robert Evans introduced a bill to celebrate Black emancipation, but the bill did not garner enough support during the Jim Crow era, Collins said. Juneteenth celebrations began to regain popularity again in the 1970s and early 1980s, after another Texas politician, Albert Ely Edwards, pushed for Juneteenth to become a state holiday, Collins said. 'There are many ancestors and elders that kept the oral history going until we made it to 2021 and it became a national holiday,' he said. 'And the truth of the matter (is that) if it wasn't for the murder of George Floyd, Juneteenth would not have become a national holiday in 2021.' Retired teacher and educator Opal Lee, known as the 'Grandmother of Juneteenth,' started a petition to federally recognize Juneteenth in October 2019. Not many people signed, but immediately following Floyd's murder and the protests that ensued, her petition jumped significantly and garnered over 1.6 million signatures. In June 2021, then-president Joe Biden declared June 19 a national holiday. Lee was present that day. Upon hearing the news, Collins said he thought of all those who pushed to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, including Rev. Ronald V. Myers Sr., who founded the National Juneteenth Observers Foundation before his death in 2018. 'I wish they had lived to see it,' he said. What do Juneteenth celebrations look like? Today, Juneteenth has become commercialized, celebrated with Juneteenth cups and t-shirts and other memorabilia, Collins said. Junteenth celebrations usually feature flags such as a red, white and blue flag with a star in the center, the same colors as the American flag, Collins said. There's also the Pan African colors, or red, black and green. For previous Juneteenth celebrations, Black people would often celebrate with whatever food and drinks were available, such as red drinks or red punch as opposed to water. Watermelon is often enjoyed as it's easy to cut up and disperse, almost like a cake, he said. Today, there are also Juneteenth pageants, parades, and festivals with music and speeches. Juneteenth is not in competition with the Fourth of July, 'Professor Juneteenth' says Some people believe individuals can't celebrate both Juneteenth and the Fourth of July, but this isn't the case, Collins said. 'The Fourth of July is a freedom birthday for the country, and June 19 is a freedom birthday for the formerly enslaved,' he told USA TODAY. He also stressed that there were people living in what is now known as the United States before 1776. When historians and community members talk about Juneteenth, it's important not to forget Indigenous people, he said. Juneteenth also isn't just a Texas holiday, and it isn't only for Black people, he said. It's for everyone to celebrate freedom and liberty. How is Juneteenth tied to May 5? Collins thinks of the history of the U.S. as a salad, made up of different stories. Each date, holiday, and event helps to complete the salad, he said. 'By adding Juneteenth, the national holiday, we flavor up the history, and we expand the narrative to tell the full story of the contributions of everyone in the history of everyone in our community,' he said. Even Cinco De Mayo is tied to Juneteenth, Collins said. On May 5, 1862, a Mexican army defeated French forces in the Battle of Puebla. French Emperor Napoleon III had plans to provide the Confederacy with guns in exchange for cotton, but the French were defeated and didn't return until about a year later in May 1863. Some historians believe this pushback allowed then-president Abraham Lincoln's generals to win Union victories before the French could give the Confederacy 'upgraded artillery and munitions,' per 'We need to acknowledge all of this history and tell the full story,' Collins said 'The national holiday helps to repair the foundation of our American history's story.' Contributing: Matthew Brown, Chelsey Cox, and N'dea Yancey-Bragg Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@
