How a Texas celebration became a national holiday
By: Clyde Hughes | Published: 2025-06-27 13:28:00 | Source: www.nj.com
Juneteenth is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States.
Simply put, Juneteenth may be the most community-oriented celebration that has ever been turned into a national holiday.
Born and raised in Texas, my family celebrated Juneteenth long before the death of George Floyd, which prompted New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy to make it a state holiday and former President Joe Biden to make it a national holiday.
We celebrated Juneteenth before many of the people who organized festivals, programs, and 5K runs were even born. Growing up, we never had big Juneteenth parades, festivals with lines of vendors, or even considered making money off of it.
Back then, Juneteenth was celebrated home by home, block by block, and neighborhood by neighborhood, with…
