06/19/2026
On January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared the freedom of enslaved individuals in the Confederate states. However, due to the lack of military presence needed to implement the proclamation, slavery continued in much of the deep south. On June 19, 1865, more than two years later, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Texas and announced that the relationship between enslavers and the enslaved had legally ended. This Juneteenth, we celebrate the freedom, resilience, and progress that have come from that day in 1865 and also reflect on the history of slavery and the ongoing pursuit of equity in the United States.