A federal holiday is coming up on Thursday to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States.
Juneteenth, first declared a federal holiday in 2021, has a history stretching back to Civil War-era America but rose in popularity in the months after the 2020 racial justice protests across the nation. 2025 will mark the first year Juneteenth is recognized under the Trump administration, which has made purging diversity, equity, and inclusion from the federal government a core part of its agenda.
Here’s everything you need to know about Juneteenth:
What is Juneteenth, and what does it commemorate?
Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, marks the day in 1865 when Union soldiers marched into Galveston, Texas, declaring that the enslaved African Americans residing there — the last group of enslaved people in the rebelling states — were free, according to the National Museum of African American History & Culture.
Though President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation two years prior, declaring all slaves in the U.S. free, it took time for the new order to take full effect.
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The war ended in April 1865, yet rebelling states such as Texas weren’t ready to give up slavery, according to the museum. Texas had remained relatively untouched and unbothered throughout the war because it was the furthest west of any Confederate state at the time, according to the Texas State Historical Association. As a result, the Union Army had to come in and force enslavers to abide by the new rules of the Emancipation Proclamation.
However, even after June 19, slavery still existed in select locations around the country, and even in states close to the Union. The passage of the 13th Amendment roughly six months later was the final legislation ensuring the freedom of all enslaved African Americans in the nation: both those in rebelling Confederate states and those belonging to the Union.
While June 19 doesn’t mark the definitive end of slavery in the U.S., it represents a key event that contributed to its eventual downfall.
When is Juneteenth celebrated?
The holiday is named for the date on which it’s celebrated every year: June 19.
When did it become a federal holiday?
Former President Joe Biden declared Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021 amid a period of racial tension in the U.S. following the deaths of black Americans such as George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police, according to the museum.
But the work of activists, such as the late Rev. Ronald V. Myers Sr., M.D., and Opal Lee, also led to the holiday’s creation.
Myers, the founder of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, traveled back and forth to Washington, D.C., for over 20 years, asking lawmakers to consider making Juneteenth a federal holiday. Lee, dubbed the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” is famous for her 1,400-mile walk from her home state of Texas to Washington, D.C., in 2016 to raise awareness for Juneteenth. She was 89 years old at the time, according to the museum.
Is it still being celebrated, and how?
Juneteenth is traditionally celebrated through family cookouts, church services, musical performances, and more, the museum reports. Because it’s a federal holiday, banks and post offices will be closed on June 19.
Since Trump took office and issued a January executive order directing federal agencies across the country to discontinue DEI efforts, some cities have adjusted or scaled back their respective Juneteenth celebrations.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Metuchen Edison Piscataway Area Branch in New Jersey moved its 2025 Juneteenth celebration off of federal property due to concerns it could violate Trump’s executive order.
“We at the NAACP are being forced to relocate our annual Juneteenth Festival from federal grounds simply because it could be seen as a DEI initiative and risk retaliation under the Trump administration’s agenda. That’s not just unacceptable — it’s dangerous,” Reggie Johnson, the branch’s president, told MyCentralJersey.
Organizers in Bend, Oregon, cited safety concerns, telling Newsweek: “In today’s increasingly volatile political climate, with rising incidents of racial aggression and threats—particularly toward Black and Latino communities—safety must come first.”
Meanwhile, organizers in Plano, Illinois, wrote in a Jan. 10 Facebook post that the 2025 Juneteenth celebration would be canceled due to “community engagement and negative feedback.” The group later said celebrations would take place in nearby Kendall County.
States, local governments, and corporate sponsors have also withdrawn support from upcoming celebrations. More than a dozen companies pulled their support for Denver’s Juneteenth Music Festival in Colorado, while the governor’s office in West Virginia announced the state wouldn’t hold any Juneteenth events because of budget issues, according to the Associated Press.
What has Trump said about Juneteenth?
Trump and the White House have so far remained quiet about the upcoming holiday, but the president has acknowledged Juneteenth in the past.
In 2024, while campaigning for the White House, Trump posted a statement on his website.
“The principle of freedom has always been at the foundation of the Republican party,” Janiyah Thomas, Trump’s Black Media Director, said in the statement. “Today, we reflect on how far we have come as a nation and remember that light will always triumph over darkness. With President Trump’s leadership, our party will continue to advance the American dream for all people.”
Trump also released a statement from the White House in 2020 during his last presidential term, before Juneteenth became a federal holiday.
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In 2020, during his first White House term — when Juneteenth was not yet a federal holiday — Trump wrote in a statement that “Juneteenth reminds us of both the unimaginable injustice of slavery and the incomparable joy that must have attended emancipation.”
“This Juneteenth, we commit, as one Nation, to live true to our highest ideals and to build always toward a freer, stronger country that values the dignity and boundless potential of all Americans,” the statement read.