Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, is an American holiday honoring and celebrating African-American ancestry, history, achievements, and struggles. In particular, this celebration honors the day in 1865 when enslaved peoples in Texas and Louisiana finally heard they’d been freed, more than two and a half years after the date of January 1, 1863 when the Emancipation Proclamation had become official. Juneteenth is now recognized as a state holiday or state holiday observance in various U.S. states, with New York officially declaring it a state holiday in 2020. However, Juneteenth celebrations and events having been taking ...