Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger announced in Galveston, Texas, the end of slavery in accordance with President Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.
In 1980, Juneteenth became a Texas state holiday. In the decades since, every state but South Dakota came to officially commemorate Juneteenth, but only a handful of states observe it as a paid holiday.
On June 15, 2021, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday.
See also our Bill of Rights Collection and our International Day of Democracy Collection.
Lesson
Grades: 4, 6, 8, 9, 10
Beyond Barbados Part 5- A Cultural Hearth video segment focuses on the rebellions that took place in Barbados and the false “Emancipation” that was presented to enslaved Africans after the rebellions...
Lesson
Grades: 8, 11
Students will determine major educational, social and political issues or problems facing African Americans following Reconstruction. Students will analyze the successes and failures of such...
Audio
Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Audio
Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Lesson
Grades: 11
This lesson is one component of a unit on Reconstruction, which would be preceded by a separate unit on the Civil War. Preceding lessons in this unit should address the political, economic, and social...
Photo
Grades: 4 8
Video
Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12