It was June 19th, 1865 which became the day celebrated as the end of slavery, though it was roughly 2 years earlier that President Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation.
June 19th was actually the day that Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger of the Union Army announced to the assembled crowd at Ashton Villa in Galveston, Texas, "In accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free."
Either way Juneteenth is now a day and sometimes a month long celebration of the end of slavery and a chance to praise and remember African-American families who were enslaved for so many years.
How do you remember your ancestors and/or African Americans who were enslaved by America for nearly 500 years?
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.