Emancipation Day is a federal holiday with Texas roots.
In 1863 during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that enslaved people living in the Confederate states to be free. More than two years would pass, however, before the news reached Texas. It was not until Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, that the state’s residents finally learned that slavery had been abolished.
The following year, on June 19, the first official Juneteenth celebrations took place in Texas and continue to this day. Whether you call it “Emancipation Day,” “Jubilee Day,” or “Juneteenth,” it’s a day to celebrate!