Juneteenth
Title
Juneteenth
Description
Known to some as the country's “second Independence Day,” Juneteenth celebrates the freedom of enslaved people in the United States at the end of the Civil War. For more than 150 years, African American communities across the country have observed this holiday. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021. The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth tells the story of how in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamations went into effect. Freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas.
Collection
Citation
“Juneteenth,” Fairfax County African American History Inventory, accessed October 24, 2026, https://fairfaxaahi.centerformasonslegacies.com/items/show/542.