Juneteenth honors June 19, 1865, the day when freedom finally came for enslaved people in Texas — two months after the end of the Civil War and more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.  

On that day, Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and U.S Major General Gordon Granger issued General Order 3, informing the people of Texas that the Union had prevailed in the war and now had the power to enforce emancipation in the state. Texas was the last state to have emancipation announced and enforced.  

In 1866, one year after news of emancipation arrived in Texas, freedmen in Texas organized large celebrations marking the day, and the Juneteenth holiday was born.  

Although Juneteenth began in Texas, over time the holiday became popular in other states. Today it is celebrated across the nation, and it became an official federal holiday in 2021. 

The Juneteenth flag is full of symbolism:

• Red, white and blue remind us that enslaved people and their descendants were and are Americans. 
• The central star symbolizes Texas, the “Lone Star state,” where Juneteenth began. It also represents freedom for all Black people across the U.S. 
• The bursting outline around the star symbolizes the spread of freedom. It also represents a new beginning for formerly enslaved people. 
• The curved horizon line represents a new dawn of opportunity for Black Americans and a new beginning for a country no longer held back by the atrocity of slavery.