Enshrined as a Pennsylvania state holiday since 2019 and a federal one two years later, Juneteenth is a commemoration of June 19, 1865, the date when the Emancipation Agreement was enforced in Texas — more than two years after it was signed — granting freedom to the state’s remaining slaves.

Juneteenth is celebrated each year on June 19 to mark the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people in the U.S. were informed of their freedom.