June 16 – what is it and is it an official holiday? History and meaning explained – World News

On June 19, 1865, enslaved people in Texas finally learned of their freedom. Here’s everything you need to know about June 16 and why it’s celebrated

June 19 is June 16, also known as Emancipation Day or Freedom Day, which is an annual commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States.

Slavery existed in America from the beginning, but a turning point came in 1619 when 20 enslaved Africans were brought to Jamestown, Virginia.

Two centuries later, in 1860, there were almost four million enslaved people in the United States.

Although the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 declared slaves free, it did not free all of the four million slaves.

It was not until June 19, 1865 that the enslaved people of Texas were told of their freedom, and so it is known that June 16 marked the end of slavery in the United States.

Although June 16 has been celebrated for over a century, it is a new holiday. Here’s everything you need to know about its history.

Is June 16th an official holiday?

June 16 has been celebrated for a century and a half, but it wasn’t until 1980 that Texas first recognized it as a state holiday.

Last year, June 16 finally became an official national holiday in the United States.

On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed legislation establishing June 16 as the new federal holiday.

When Barack Obama was Senator from Illinois, he co-promoted legislation to make June 16 a national holiday, but the law never passed.

However, in the summer of 2020, global Black Lives Matter protests took place after black Americans, including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, were killed by police.

The protests added momentum for legislation, and both chambers of the US Congress passed the law in 2021.

It was the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was introduced in 1983.

What happened on June 16?

On June 19, 1865, federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to take control of the state and tell enslaved African Americans that the Civil War was over and they were free.

That day, slaves in Texas first learned of the Emancipation Proclamation, more than two years after Abraham Lincoln signed it in 1862.

The Emancipation Proclamation declared that over three million enslaved people living in the Confederate States would be free beginning January 1, 1863.

In reality, however, the Emancipation Proclamation did not immediately free all enslaved people, since it applied only to slaves living in states not under Union control.

So it took more than two years for the slaves in the southern state to be informed of their release.

On June 19, 1865, US General Gordon Granger promulgated the General Orders No Slaves Are Free to the residents and slaves of Texas.

Following the news, celebrations erupted among newly freed slaves and the annual June 16 celebration was instituted.

In December of that year, the 13th Amendment formally abolished slavery in the United States.

How is June 16th celebrated?

People in the United States celebrate the importance of June 16 in many different ways.

Some states host music festivals, parades, parades, and even rodeos, while others host political events, readings, and services.

For many, June 16th is a time to get together with your family or community and share food, with barbecues being one of the most popular ways people celebrate.