Join us as we Honor Juneteenth, considered the oldest celebration of the end of enslavement in the United States – and a newly-recognized official state holiday here in New York! We will spotlight the events, experiences, and people fundamental to our collective understanding and appreciation of freedom.
The holiday is inspired by events that occurred on June 19, 1865, when Union troops brought the message of emancipation and the end of the Civil War to over 250,000 enslaved persons in Texas – more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. These messengers of freedom were met with shock and jubilation.
