Celebrate Juneteenth!

Today is Juneteenth, a newly-minted federal holiday just a couple of years old, but a holiday steeped in tradition and celebration for African-American communities dating back to June 19, 1865, when federal officers arrived in Galveston, Texas with the news that Black people enslaved in that state were free. It has been marked as a "second independence day" since then.

From the Biden Administration's proclamation:

On June 19, 1865, freedom finally came for the 250,000 enslaved people of Texas. That day, which would become known as Juneteenth, the Army arrived to enforce what had already been the law of the land for two and a half years -- the Emancipation Proclamation. Today, we recognize that Juneteenth not only marks the end of America's original sin of slavery but also the beginning of the work at the heart and soul of our Nation: making the promise of America real for every American.

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