Juneteenth This Year Marks the Nation's First Celebration of the Holiday

Image by Wynn Pointaux from Pixabay

Today, Saturday, June 19, 2021 is the one hundred and fifty-sixth anniversary of Juneteenth, when the news of slavery's abolishment reached the south. It is also the very first year our nation has recognized the momentous occasion as a federal holiday.

On June, 19, 1865, Union Army General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas to announce that President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation had ended slavery and set Confederate states' slaves free.  

Over a century and a half ago, General Granger's announcement was followed by celebrations by former slaves, now free.  Today, local Juneteenth celebrations echo the joy of that day, while also serving as a reminder of the work left to be done in our country on issues of race, equality, and inclusion.

With Juneteenth falling on a Saturday for the first year of its celebration, many federal offices observed the nation's new eleventh federal holiday on Friday.

Happy Juneteenth from Westwood Minute!

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