June 19 marks Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. It became a federal holiday in 2021 when then-President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.

Juneteenth recognizes the official emancipation of enslaved people in Texas on June 19, 1865, symbolizing the end of slavery in the United States. This commemoration highlights the late announcement of freedom in Galveston, Texas, two years following the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil War's conclusion.

It became a U.S. federal holiday in 2021, following the signing of a bill by former President Joe Biden. Long a regional holiday in the South, Juneteenth rose in prominence across the country following protests that swept the world in 2020 over the police killings of George Floyd,