Juneteenth – also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day, and Emancipation Day – is a commemorative celebration of June 19, 1865 - the day freedom was signaled for some 250,000 humans still enslaved in Galveston, Texas.
This signaling came two and a half years after the January 1, 1863 proclamation of emancipation for enslaved people living in the Confederacy.
For another two and a half years, more than 4,000,000 Black folks would remain enslaved in the United States until December 18, 1865, when the 13th amendment officially abolished slavery.
Though this would not amend the precarious postbellum status of Black freedom in America — even to this day — for over 150 years, Black folks have found resolution and reason to celebrate.
