Juneteenth first became recognized as a national holiday in 1980. But it’s been a part of the fabric of Texas culture well before that.
Also known as Freedom Day, Juneteenth is the celebration of the announced and enforced freedom of enslaved people in 1865—more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.
The enforced aspect is critical – many slave owners chose to not follow the executive order to keep what they viewed as “their property.” Generations later, Juneteenth is being celebrated by many Black Americans in lieu of the Fourth of July.
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