Juneteenth is a holiday celebrated on June 19 to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. The holiday was first celebrated in Texas, where on that date in 1865, in the aftermath of the Civil War, slaves were declared free under the terms of the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation.
Juneteenth was established as the 12th federal holiday on June 17, 2021 with the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act.