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Indianapolis Star
14 hours ago
- General
- Indianapolis Star
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.
The Hill
15 hours ago
- General
- The Hill
National parks will be free to enter on Thursday: Here's why
DENVER (KDVR) — Entrance fees to all 63 of the nation's national parks will be waived on Thursday as the National Park Service commemorates Juneteenth. The day is known by many names — Black Independence Day, Emancipation Day, Jubilee Day — but the reason to celebrate it remains the same throughout: Commemoration of the day that the last African Americans learned they were no longer enslaved people. President Abraham Lincoln had already signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which became official as of Jan. 1, 1863, but African-descended people in Galveston, Texas, learned of the proclamation years later on June 19, 1865 — when a Union general led soldiers into town with the news that the Civil War was over and enslaved people were free. In light of the holiday, fees to enter all national parks in the U.S. will be waived. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021 with legislation signed by former President Biden. 'All Americans can feel the power of this day, and learn from our history,' said at the time. It was the first new national holiday in nearly 40 years, the New York Times reported, since Martin Luther King's birthday became a holiday in 1983.
