On June 19, 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, thousands of enslaved African Americans were informed that they were free. Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that they were now free. Enslaved Texans represented the last remaining enslaved African Americans in the Confederacy, which was made up of 11 southern states.
It wasn’t until the 1980s that Juneteenth became a national holiday, with Texas the first state to introduce it. Out of 50 states, 47 have followed suit, with New Hampshire the latest to do so in 2019. Hawaii, North Dakota, and South Dakota are the only states yet to do so. Read more HERE and HERE.
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