The home of Juneteenth: Texas town that's behind the holiday where America's last slaves were emancipated In 1865, Union troops arrived on these shores to free the remaining slaves The holiday had been celebrated across communities in the South for years By Sophie Mann For Dailymail.Com Published: 22:07, 19 June 2024 | Updated: 10:40, 20 June 2024 e-mail 17 shares 60 View comments Nationally, Americans are celebrating Juneteenth for the fourth year in a row, but in Galveston, Texas , families have been marking the date in a celebratory fashion for generations. The date, which became a federal holiday in 2021, commemorates the official end of slavery in Galveston in 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation order the freeing of black people still held by members of the Confederacy.
Members of the Texas city's black community say the holiday has always been recognized and celebrated by black people in the area - in parks and backyards, where families and friends gathered to barbecue and tell stories. Roy Collins, 67, of Galveston, told NPR that he has 'newspaper records of my great-grandfather - who was by this time, in 1885, he would have been 25 years old - and he was given the role of reading the Emancipation Proclamation at that celebration.' Members of the City of Galveston government unveil new signage that will be installed on the highway entering the Island to recognize its place as the birthplace of Juneteenth An Emancipation Day celebration held on June 19, .
