What Is Juneteenth? Know All About The Significance It Holds

Juneteenth is a combination on June and 19th.Every year on June 19, Juneteenth is celebrated to commemorate the freedom of Black Americans from slavery in 1865

All images from Pinterest

President Joe Biden signed a measure into law in 2021, making it an official holiday in the United States.

Following the 2020 protests in response to the police killings of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, and other African Americans, Juneteenth gained national attention.

This is also marked as a tribute to those who suffered from slavery for 400 years since the first Africans were bought into slavery in colonies that is now America.

In modern day America, a large number of people participate in celebrating this day. They do so by participating in civil rights activism, reading historical and cultural works about African Americans and eating at eateries run by Black people.

“It recognizes liberation, it recognizes freedom. Some people will refer to it as Black Independence Day. It’s a day to celebrate the ending of an era of 246 years of enslavement that African Americans experienced in this country,” Daina Ramey Berry, Professor of History and Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts at the University of California, Santa Barbara said to TIME.

Juneteenth is also referred to as Black Independence Day. It marks the end of slavery and is popularly celebrated by Africans and Americans in the country.