What is Juneteenth National Independence Day?
Juneteenth, a blend of June and nineteenth, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. It marks 19 June 1865, when Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that enslaved people in the state were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1 January 1863. The announcement is known as General Order No. 3. The day is also called Freedom Day, Emancipation Day and Jubilee Day, and it is often described as the oldest known commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States.
Freedpeople in Texas organised the first annual Jubilee Day celebrations in 1866, and the custom spread across the country. Typical observances include family gatherings, church services, cookouts, music, readings of the Emancipation Proclamation and parades. Red foods and drinks, such as red velvet cake and strawberry soda, are traditionally associated with the day, and many cities hold festivals, exhibitions and talks on African American history.
Why it is observed
The Emancipation Proclamation applied only to Confederate states in rebellion and depended on Union military advances to be enforced, which in Texas happened only after the end of the Civil War. The 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery nationwide, was ratified in December 1865. Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth an official holiday, in a law passed in 1979 that took effect in 1980, and every state and the District of Columbia has since recognised it in some way. President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act on 17 June 2021, making it the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.
How the date is set
Juneteenth is fixed on 19 June. When it falls on a Saturday the federal holiday is observed on Friday, and when it falls on a Sunday, on the following Monday.
How it is observed
Juneteenth is a federal holiday. Federal offices, banks, the stock exchanges, the post office and many schools close, though private employers are not required to give the day off, and many remain open. In 2027 it falls on a Saturday, so the federal holiday is observed on Friday 18 June. State holiday status varies. Parades, festivals and concerts take place across the country. Pay and time off depend on the employer, the state and the contract, and some employers have added the day as a paid holiday since 2021.
Sources
United States