Juneteenth: an opportunity to celebrate African American culture and rally for racial justice

On June 19, African American communities in cities and towns around the United States will celebrate Juneteenth. The holiday, which has been around for more than 155 years and has now been recognized as a federal holiday, marks the anniversary of June 19, 1865 (the name is a contraction of the words “June” and “nineteenth”). On that day, more than two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, enslaved people in Texas learned they were free. Juneteenth is an opportunity to gather with family and friends, celebrate African American culture and rally for racial justice. Read on to learn more about the history and traditions of this uniquely African American holiday, and how its importance is being increasingly recognized as “an American point of reflection.”

The holiday commemorates the end-of-slavery announcement in Texas

As CNBC explains, the holiday marks June 19, the day in 1865 when Major General Gordon Granger of the victorious Union Army landed in Galveston, Texas, with 2,000 troops “and informed slaves that the Civil War had ended and slavery had been abolished.” At the time, there were more than 250,000 slaves in Texas, who were “shocked to hear the by then years old news that they were free.” A Smithsonian Magazine feature captures the excitement of the time: “Disoriented, most likely fearful of an uncertain future in which they could do as they pleased, the liberated slaves of Texas celebrated. Their moment of jubilee was spontaneous and ecstatic, and began a tradition of marking freedom on Juneteenth.”

The news of emancipation took more than two years to reach Texas

The Emancipation Proclamation—the decree issued by President Abraham Lincoln that ended slavery in the Confederate states—was enacted on January 1, 1863. On “Freedom’s Eve,” African American people in many parts of the country gathered in churches and private homes to count down to midnight and celebrate together. However, as explained by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the news didn’t reach enslaved people in the Confederate state of Texas until more than two and a half years later. There are “varying accounts” of why the news took so long to reach Texas. One story posits that a messenger bearing the news was murdered on his way there; another possibility is that slave owners knew about the decree but decided not to inform the enslaved people working for them until after harvest time.

African Americans in Texas have celebrated Juneteenth since 1866

In 1866, to mark the anniversary of Granger’s announcement, newly free African Americans in Texas “marked June 19 with anniversary celebrations that included prayer services and church gatherings.” Over the next few decades, the holiday became an annual tradition, “highlighted by joyous singing, pig roasts, and rodeos.” Kellie Carter Jackson notes in The Atlantic that early celebrations “venerated black Civil War veterans and were mainly held in private places that could be shielded from the white gaze.” In 1872, one group of Black Houstonians raised more than $800 to buy a plot of land to use for the annual celebrations; it later became a public park known as Emancipation Park. African American historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. describes the holiday as “an occasion for gathering lost family members, measuring progress against freedom and inculcating rising generations with the values of self-improvement and racial uplift.” Celebrants would often dress up in their finest clothes, and religious celebrations as well as readings of the Emancipation Proclamation were also part of the festivities.

Not all slaves were freed by Juneteenth

As The Guardian explains, “many Black Americans remained subjected to the realities of slavery in America even long after [June 19,] 1865.” Some former slaves in Texas who attempted to flee were hung or shot; others were forced to remain at their posts, sometimes for several years. The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 declared the end of slavery only in Confederate territory; slaves in border states and northern “free states”—that had remained in the Union during the Civil War—were not legally free until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment. Even after the end of slavery, many newly free African Americans, like the couple in this photo, ended up in an exploitative form of debt servitude known as sharecropping, working the land of mostly white landowners and paying living expenses in crops.

Juneteenth spread all over the country with the Great Migration

From about 1916 to 1970, according to the History Channel, more than 6 million African Americans migrated from the southern states to the North, Midwest and West, motivated by a demand for industrial workers and a desire to escape institutionalized segregation. This mass exodus was known as the Great Migration. Wherever Black Texans migrated, Juneteenth celebrations followed. As Gates says, “strengthening the holiday’s chances at survival was its move across state lines—one person, one family, one carload or train ticket at a time,” and celebrations began popping up on the west coast and in other parts of the country where the holiday was previously unknown. This photo shows a Juneteenth march in New York.

The civil rights movement brought Juneteenth (back) to national prominence

By the mid-20th century, some communities that had once held Juneteenth celebrations were no longer doing so. “It is possible that Juneteenth would have vanished from the calendar (at least outside of Texas) had it not been for another remarkable turn of events during the same civil rights movement that had exposed many of the country’s shortcomings about race relations,” according to Henry Louis Gates. Two months after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, the Poor People’s Campaign, the multiracial campaign for civil rights and economic justice that King had led, organized a march on Washington on Juneteenth, at the end of a month of protests that had drawn fewer people than expected. “Everything that could go wrong did [...] so how can you leave with some sense of honor?” historian William Wiggins told Smithsonian Magazine. “It was late June and there were people from all different states […], so they had a group from Texas and someone said, ‘Why don’t we have a Juneteenth celebration[?]’ […] My theory is that these delegates for the summer took that idea of the celebration back to their respective communities.”

Texas did not designate Juneteenth a state holiday until 1979

Texas, the birthplace of Juneteenth, passed a proclamation on June 7, 1979, declaring the day a state holiday. According to the History Channel, Al Edwards, a Black Texan civil rights leader-turned-state legislator, was the initiator of the bill. In the decades since, most states have recognized Juneteenth as a paid state holiday or observance. South Dakota and Washington state (starting in 2022) are two of the most recent.

Juneteenth is now a federal public holiday

On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed a bill declaring that Juneteenth is now a federal holiday. Although Juneteenth had been observed in most states, African American activists, particularly in Texas, had been pushing for it to be designated as a holiday for decades. According to the Texas Tribune, attempts to pass federal legislation recognizing the holiday “date back to at least 1996” and had been backed by both parties, drawing support from both African American and Texan federal elected officials. After the landmark Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, the movement to make Juneteenth a national holiday gained new momentum, with activists pointing out that more than a decade passed between the first proposal of a holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and the recognition of that holiday. Vice President Kamala Harris was one prominent supporter of a federal holiday declaration while she served in the Senate.

Juneteenth is also known as Black Independence Day

The Fourth of July wasn’t necessarily synonymous with freedom or independence for Black Americans. At the time of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, around one-fifth of the people living in the 13 newly independent colonies were enslaved. “Before emancipation, America’s slaves and anyone else who prized equality, freedom and liberty knew that the Declaration of Independence only meant equality, freedom, and liberty for some,” observes Kenneth C. Davis in Smithsonian Magazine, going on to cite a speech by former slave-turned-abolitionist orator Frederick Douglass: “What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is constant victim.” Juneteenth is also known as Emancipation Day or Black Independence Day—the day when the Founding Fathers’ stated ideals of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” and of “all men are created equal” became, at least in theory, attainable for the Black population.

The holiday is often celebrated with Texas barbecue

In his description of Juneteenth celebrations for PBS’s African American history blog, historian Henry Louis Gates refers to “the almighty barbecue pit.” A 2015 Texas Monthly story which delves into the culinary history of Juneteenth cites several 19th-century newspaper articles mentioning Black Texans holding large barbecues to “celebrate the Juneteenth.” Historian William Wiggins says in Smithsonian Magazine that Juneteenth barbecue was “just like turkey at Thanksgiving,” and groups of friends and neighbors would spend the night before the celebrations slow-roasting a pig over a firepit. Cooking website Taste of Home adds that “no Juneteenth menu is complete without traditional side dishes and desserts like collard greens, potato salad, cornbread pudding, peach cobbler and banana pudding” and tea cakes inspired by desserts enslaved cooks made for their own families. Modern celebrations still include barbecue, although preparing the meat isn’t the community-oriented ritual it once was.

Red foods are traditionally eaten at Juneteenth picnics

Red foods are traditionally eaten at Juneteenth celebrations—red velvet cake, red punch and a Texas brand of soda called Big Red pop up frequently, as do watermelons, red beans and rice and hot sauce. Food writer Michael Twitty speculates in Texas Monthly that this custom might have African roots: “The practice of eating red foods—red cake, barbecue, punch and fruit—may owe its existence to the enslaved Yoruba and Kongo brought to Texas in the 19th century.” According to Dr. Fred Opie, professor of history and foodways, some historians believe the red color could be connected to “the Asante and Yoruba’s special occasions which included offering up the blood of animals (especially the red blood of white birds and white goats) to their ancestors and gods,” noting that red is a symbol of strength in many West African cultures. Red is also thought to symbolize the blood shed by generations of slaves, or the persistence of those who fought injustice. Oprah Daily also speculates that in the era before food coloring, “the rarity of eating red colored treats […] made certain vibrant delicacies worth celebrating,” adding a splash of festive color to any event.

Juneteenth is often marked with festive outdoor celebrations

Juneteenth is celebrated across the United States with parades, pageants, outdoor festivals, barbecues, religious services and family gatherings. According to The Guardian, the holiday is celebrated in more than 200 official events in cities and towns across the country; Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Buffalo host three of the largest celebrations. “It is just a good time with homemade ice cream, baseball games and all that sort of stuff. What has changed and what has been put in there, is the whole shift […] to emphasizing the family,” says William Wiggins in Smithsonian Magazine. “These events, more and more, are being seen as instances to reaffirm and reestablish family ties.” Today, according to The Atlantic, Juneteenth also serves as “an occasion for voter-registration drives and to support black-owned businesses or community fundraisers.” Here, drummers perform at a Juneteenth celebration in Philadelphia.

Juneteenth has its own flag

The Juneteenth flag was created in 1997 by activist and organizer Ben Haith, according to Parade. The colors on the flag echo the red, white and blue of the American flag. “The Juneteenth flag symbolizes freedom and justice for Black Americans and African Americans. The colors of the flag are similar to the United States flag because all Americans are able to understand and recognize the importance of African American history. One can not separate African American history from America’s history and the flag reminds us of just that.” The star recalls the event’s roots in Texas, and the starburst represents new opportunities opening for members of the Black community.

Juneteenth is celebrated in some surprising places

Juneteenth celebrations spread to other countries as African Americans migrated around the world and their history became more widely known outside the United States. A registry of international celebrations on Juneteenth.com mentions events in Canada, Japan, England, France, Israel and various countries in the Caribbean, as well as among U.S. military members serving overseas. In the 19th century, thousands of African Americans fleeing slavery settled in northern Mexico. Although the majority eventually returned to the United States, some stayed on, forming a unique mixed-race community for whom the holiday, known as el Día de los Negros (or ‘Day of the Blacks’), is “one of the most important days of the year.” This Texas Monthly story takes readers inside a Juneteenth celebration in a small Mexican village. This march in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement (pictured) took place in Vancouver, B.C., Canada in 2020.

Commonwealth countries celebrate emancipation on August 1

In the British Empire, slavery was abolished on August 1, 1834. As a result, Emancipation Day is celebrated in Black communities in the Caribbean and in Canada. In 2008, Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, declared Emancipation Day a provincial holiday; Toronto’s world-famous Caribbean Carnival (pictured) is part of Emancipation Day celebrations. The town of Owen Sound, north of Toronto, claims to have the country’s “oldest consecutive celebration of Emancipation Day, having held a picnic and now a festival every year since 1862.” In a parallel with Juneteenth, Emancipation Day “serves both to challenge racism and celebrate everything Black Canadians have accomplished.”

Juneteenth celebrations are also political—especially now

Juneteenth has never been just about barbecue and parades. “It’s this critical inflection point in the Black freedom struggle,” Julian Hayter, a historian and an associate professor at the University of Richmond in Virginia, told NBC News. In 2020, the holiday took on new urgency, in light of the Black Lives Matter protests, the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and others, and the disproportionate burden that the COVID-19 pandemic placed on African American communities. When then-president Donald Trump scheduled a rally in Tulsa, Okla. (the site of an infamous massacre of Black Oklahomans by white supremacists) on Juneteenth, many in the Black community called it a “slap in the face.” (The rally was later rescheduled.) While Trump’s claim that “no one ever heard of Juneteenth” before the ill-fated rally was certainly exaggerated, Juneteenth did go viral in 2020. “If the things that are happening right now have any significance, I think it might be the first time where people recognize the importance of this holiday […] as an American point of reflection,” Hayter said.

Juneteenth is not universally known in the United States

According to African American studies professor and author Karlos Hill, Juneteenth “is largely seen as an African-American thing; it is not seen as something for the general population.” USA Today cited a poll taken in 2020 that found that just over half of Americans said they were aware that Juneteenth was a holiday. One-third said they were “not at all aware” and 15% were “not very aware.” Just under half of white and Asian Americans were aware of the holiday, while 69% of African Americans were. Two-thirds of Americans of all races, including 84% of African Americans, said they supported making Juneteenth a holiday. Hill believes creating a national Juneteenth holiday is a step toward confronting America’s legacy of slavery and racial inequality. “With things like a national Juneteenth holiday, we can begin to really acknowledge and address all of the issues, past and present, tied up in this issue of slavery,” he told Vox.

The meaning of Juneteenth isn’t systematically taught in U.S. schools

Not all Americans learn about the significance of Juneteenth in school, according to CBS News. “The lack of black history in the curriculum is not an issue that’s exclusive to the South,” Lindsay Templeton, an educator, told CBS News in 2020. “There are people chiming in from different states and different coasts about how they never learned about a lot of these things, about how white-washed their history classes were.” CBS found that the lack of knowledge about the significance of Juneteenth is reflective of a broader lack of information on African American history in many U.S. school curriculums. The news network’s investigation showed that “seven states do not directly mention slavery in their state standards and eight states do not mention the civil rights movement.”

Corporations are increasingly recognizing the holiday

In light of the precedent summer’s wave of racial justice protests in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, Juneteenth 2020 may have been “the most celebrated in decades,” USA Today reported. The celebrations extended to corporate America, with major companies moving to recognize Juneteenth as an internal holiday. “Twitter, Nike and the NFL are just some of the biggest names raising the mainstream profile of Juneteenth by giving their employees a paid holiday to recognize the date.” Adobe, Mastercard, Lyft, Uber, Best Buy, Target, J.C. Penney, The Washington Post and The New York Times have also made the day a company holiday. “Whether companies and governments get it right or not, black-led celebrations will remain the heart of Juneteenth,” observes The Atlantic.

Juneteenth celebrations have gone virtual during the pandemic

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, many annual celebrations which normally draw crowds have gone virtual, and Juneteenth festivities are no exception. In Austin, organizers put on a program of live-streamed “tiny desk” concerts as volunteers handed out plates of barbecue in communities hit hard by the COVID-driven economic crisis. In Cincinnati, where an annual festival has drawn revelers to a public park each June for more than three decades, organizers opted for a live-streamed concert in 2020, which was also made available on community cable channels. The National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. (pictured) is one of many organizations putting on free virtual celebrations.