June 19 marks the 157th anniversary of Juneteenth, a celebration of the abolishment of slavery. It was on this day in 1865 that Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, proclaiming the good news to enslaved African Americans that they were now free.
Although Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation had officially ended slavery in the Confederacy, enforcement depended on the advancement of Union troops. Consequently, many enslaved Americans carried on in servitude — even after the Civil War ended — not yet knowing they were free.
