Rita Cook's blog
Celebrations Commemorating End To African-American Slavery In Texas
It’s the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States and in fact, the Juneteenth celebration dates back to 1865. It was on June 19, that Major General Gordan Granger and his Union soldiers landed at Galveston, TX, with news that the war had ended and that those who were enslaved were free. In addition, even though the Emancipation Proclamation became official January 1, 1863, it took Texas two years to get the news.
