Juneteenth, now more than 155 years old, is celebrated on June 19 to honor the liberation of African Americans from slavery in the United States. The holiday’s name comes from blending “June” and “nineteenth.” On this day in 1865, Major General Gordon Granger of the Union Army arrived in Galveston, Texas, bringing the news that the Civil War had ended and that all enslaved people were free—more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Today, Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom, history, and community.