Juneteenth Holiday (School Closed)

What

Juneteenth Holiday (School Closed)

When

6/19/2026

The nation's youngest federal holiday is around the corner.

Juneteenth commemorates the events of June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas when the last Black slaves of the Confederacy were ordered free following the arrival of Union troops.


What is Juneteenth?
The holiday commemorates the Emancipation Proclamation in the U.S. President Abraham Lincoln issued the proclamation to free enslaved African Americans in secessionist states on January 1, 1863, but enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, would not learn of their freedom until two years later.

On June 19, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger informed the community of Galveston of Lincoln's proclamation. Although enslaved people had been officially emancipated years prior, enslavers responsible for telling them ignored the order until Union troops arrived to enforce it, founder of Juneteenth.com Cliff Robinson earlier told USA TODAY. Texas was the last Confederate state to have the proclamation announced.

The day, which rose to national prominence in 2020 amid nationwide protests for ongoing racial inequities in the justice system between Black people – specifically Breonna Taylor and George Floyd – and police, was officially recognized a federal holiday by President Joe Biden in 2021.