Juneteenth started as a celebration of freedom. Here's why it's now a national holiday.
Corrections & Clarifications: A previous version of this article incorrectly described Juneteenth's legal status in Arizona.
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.
This event gave rise to the Juneteenth holiday.
When is Juneteenth?
Always held on June 19, Juneteenth will land on a Monday in 2023. The name 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.
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When was Juneteenth first celebrated?
The inaugural Juneteenth celebration was in 1866 in Texas, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica. Within a few years, Juneteenth celebrations in Texas had grown to include thousands of people, according to archival newspaper research by Newspapers.com.
How long has Juneteenth been a federal holiday?
In 2021, Congress passed legislation that President Joe Biden signed to make Juneteenth the 12th federal holiday. Efforts had been building since at least 1994 to make Juneteenth a national holiday, according to the Congressional Research Service. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was the last federal holiday to be added before Juneteenth. That was in 1983.
When did Arizona start observing Juneteenth?
In 2016, the Arizona Legislature passed a law commemorating Juneteenth with a day of observance. It is not a state holiday. The first state to recognize Juneteenth as a holiday was Texas, in 1980, according to the Congressional Research Service. More than half of the states now recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday, according to the Pew Research Center.
How is Juneteenth celebrated?
According to the Congressional Research Service, this is how Juneteenth was first celebrated: "Texans celebrated Juneteenth beginning in 1866 with community-centric events, such as parades, cookouts, prayer gatherings, historical and cultural readings, and musical performances. Over time, communities have developed their own traditions. Some communities purchased land for Juneteenth celebrations, such as Emancipation Park in Houston, Texas. As families emigrated from Texas to other parts of the United States, they carried Juneteenth celebrations with them."
Nowadays, Juneteenth celebrations often feature a mix of celebration and education. Celebrations come in the form of barbecues, parades and block parties. Recitations of the Emancipation of Proclamation are also common at Juneteenth events.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: When is Juneteenth? Here's how the holiday is celebrated in Arizona
