Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.

The Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in the United States was issued by President Abraham Lincoln in January of 1863. However, this news didn’t reach slaves in Texas until June 19, 1865 after Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that slaves were now free.

The name Juneteenth just comes from a blending of the date. The holiday is an opportunity to cherish freedom, but it’s also an opportunity to remember.