Remembering the past, celebrating freedom: The meaning of Juneteenth

Hailey Waldo Riverbend News Every year, on June 19, communities across the United States gather to celebrate Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in America and honors the resilience, achievements and amazing contributions of African Americans throughout history. Juneteenth, a combination of the words “June” and “nineteenth,” marks June 19, 1865, the day Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and informed enslaved African Americans that they were free. This announcement came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared people in Confederate states legally free. Because communication traveled