Every June 19, people across the U.S. gather for music, joy, food, and history—not just because it’s summertime, but because it’s Juneteenth, the longest-running African American holiday and now a federal one. It marks the day in 1865 when news of emancipation finally reached enslaved people in Texas—more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom delayed, but never denied, and it’s filled with resilience, tradition, and soul food. And yes, red velvet cake too.
Let’s get into 19 amazing facts about Juneteenth that are as moving as they are enlightening:
- Juneteenth is a combination of the words June and nineteenth—the day in 1865 when freedom was finally enforced in Texas.
- Major General Gordon Granger delivered the famous General Order No. 3 in Galveston, Texas, declaring all enslaved people free.
- That moment came over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Lincoln.
- Texas was the first state to make Juneteenth an official holiday—in 1980!
- The holiday started as Jubilee Day in 1866 and often included church services, prayer, fishing, and big community barbecues.
- Enslaved people were often banned from public parks, so they bought land to hold their own Juneteenth celebrations. That’s how Houston’s Emancipation Park was born.
- Red foods and drinks, like strawberry soda and red velvet cake, are symbolic and traditional—red represents strength and sacrifice.
- For many Black Americans, Juneteenth is “America’s Second Independence Day.”
- The Juneteenth flag, created in 1997, features a bursting star to symbolize new freedom and a new horizon.
- The celebration spread from Texas to places like California, Illinois, and New York through the Great Migration.
- The Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s helped revive interest in Juneteenth as a symbol of unfinished freedom.
- In 1979, Al Edwards, a Texas legislator, pushed to make Juneteenth a paid holiday. His legacy still echoes at annual celebrations in Galveston.
- Opal Lee, now known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” walked from Texas to D.C. to push for federal recognition. She was 94 when President Biden signed it into law.
- On June 17, 2021, Juneteenth officially became the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.
- Today, at least 27 states give state employees a paid day off to observe Juneteenth.
- Modern Juneteenth festivals include art shows, historical reenactments, music performances, voter registration drives, and more.
- Cities as far away as Paris and Mexico hold Juneteenth celebrations, proving freedom knows no borders.
- Songs like “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” are Juneteenth staples—deeply rooted in cultural memory.
- Above all, Juneteenth is about celebrating, educating, and connecting—because freedom, joy, and community are contagious.
So yes, Juneteenth is about history—but it’s also about hope. It reminds us how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go. It’s a day for remembering, for dancing, for teaching our kids, for honoring the ancestors who waited far too long for freedom, and for ensuring no one ever has to wait that long again. And if you can do all that with a plate of ribs in one hand and a slice of red velvet cake in the other? Even better.
Happy Juneteenth, everyone. Freedom looks good on all of us.