Juneteenth (full name Juneteenth National Independence Day, also known as Freedom Day,[1]Jubilee Day,[2] and Liberation Day[3]) is a holiday in the United States on June 19. It is a memory of June 19, 1865, when the slaves in Texas got their freedom and commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. The name Juneteenth is a short form of June nineteenth.[4] It became a recognized federal holiday in June 2021 when PresidentJoe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.[5][6][7]
The first celebration of Juneteenth was in 1866. Over the years, it was sometimes more popular, and sometimes less popular. Texas was the first state to make it an official holiday in 1979.[8] After George Floyd was killed in 2020, many people wanted to show their support for black rights.