Juneteenth, also known as Juneteenth Independence Day, Freedom Day, or Emancipation Day, is a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. It is celebrated on June 19th, marking the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, learned of their freedom. This news arrived two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, highlighting a delayed implementation of freedom for many in the Confederate South.