In 2021, President Biden officially signed a law making Juneteenth a federal holiday. But you may be asking, what exactly is Juneteenth? Juneteenth (or June 19th) marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to ensure that all enslaved people were freed in 1865. Texas was the last state to free their enslaved people, as this was a full two years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Today it is considered one of the longest celebrated African American holidays.
To celebrate the holiday, Holland is holding a Juneteenth Freedom Festival in Kollen Park on Saturday, June 18. If you're looking to learn a little more about the history of Juneteenth before then, check out these middle grade books about Juneteenth and the history that lead to it.
