NPS Commemorations and Celebrations

Juneteenth National Independence Day

Reenactment of a US Army soldier talking to a group of enslaved Americans announcing the end of slavery
Booker T. Washington remembered his mother “was standing by my side, leaned over and kissed her children, while tears of joy ran down her cheeks. She explained to us what it all meant, that this was the day for which she had been so long praying but fearing that she would never live to see."

NPS Photo

Juneteenth (June 19) is the one of the oldest known commemorations related to the abolition of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth National Independence Day was signed into law as a national holiday on June 17, 2021. The word “Juneteenth” is a Black English contraction, or portmanteau, of the month “June” and the date “Nineteenth.” Juneteenth celebrates the date of June 19, 1865, when enslaved people of African descent located in Galveston, Texas, finally learned of their freedom from the slavery system in the United States.

Freedom was granted through the Emancipation Proclamation signed on January 1, 1863, by President Abraham Lincoln. Texas was the farthest of the Confederate states, and slaveholders there made no attempt to free the enslaved African Americans they held in bondage. This meant that President Lincoln’s proclamation was unenforceable without military intervention, which eventually came nearly 2.5 years later.

From 1865 forward, the day has held special meaning for people of African descent in the United States. Juneteenth continues to be celebrated in cities with Black populations through a series of parades, family reunions, speeches, and consuming of specific foods with a red color including barbeque, watermelon (an African fruit), and “red soda water” (primarily strawberry soda). The use of the color red in ceremonies is a practice that enslaved West Africans brought to the United States. Contemporary food items that maintain this cultural connection include kola nut tea and hibiscus tea, also known as bissap in the Caribbean or jamaica (ha-MY-kah) in Latin America; large numbers of kidnapped and enslaved West Africans were sent to both areas.. Strawberry soda is the contemporary replacement of these teas in US Juneteenth celebrations. Juneteenth is an important date on the timeline of slavery history in the United States.

 
 
a woman on a low bridge over a canal gazes out at a vast grassy wetland as the sun sets
Protecting the Places and Stories

Beyond beautiful places, the National Park Service protects our nation's emancipation sites and stories.

A woman stands on a front porch, facing a group of others in 19th-century clothing
Origins of Juneteenth

Learn more about the origins of Juneteenth, which captured the jubilation of the end of slavery.

Back of two women looking at a statue
"Twenty & Odd"

Reflect on 400 years of African American experience through the lens of our nation's iconic places in this short film.

 
 

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Set the calendar to June to find related events hosted by national parks leading up to and on Juneteenth National Independence Day (June 19), including ranger programs, ceremonies, guest speakers, concerts, and more.
 

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Last updated: December 5, 2024

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