06/19/2026
Juneteenth honors the day enslaved people in Texas were made aware of the Emancipation Proclamation and officially released from their bonds. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, but it was not until June 19, 1865, that the last of the enslaved people in the Confederacy were informed of their freedom. While historically celebrated as the day the final orders were read to enslaved Texans, it was not the absolute end of slavery. The institution was not completely eradicated legally until the ratification of the 13th Amendment on December 6, 1865, which formally outlawed it across the entire country. Part of the 13th Amendment notes: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”