Celebrated annually on June 19 across the US, Juneteenth commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas and the nation’s “second” Independence Day.
Juneteenth – which was recognised as a federal holiday in 2021 – now more widely represents the emancipation of enslaved African Americans across the country in the wake of the US Civil War and its violent aftermath. It is the oldest nationally recognised commemoration of slavery’s end.
