NATJA Notes: Celebrating Juneteenth!

Juneteenth: Our Second Independence

Juneteenth marks the day on June 19th, 1865 when the United States Union Army marched into Galveston, Texas and emancipated more than 250,000 enslaved African Americans. It took more than two years for President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation to go into effect in the state of Texas and more than 80 years since the Declaration of Independence for enslaved people to know freedom. Becoming a U.S. federal holiday in 2021, Juneteenth is a celebration of the history and rich culture of the African American community and a reminder to continue the fight for human rights and equality.