Juneteenth is a significant day in U.S. history. The National Museum of African American History and Culture refers to Juneteenth as our country’s second independence day. Short for “June Nineteenth,” it is also known as “Freedom Day” and “Emancipation Day.”
What is Juneteenth?
On Jan. 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that all slaves who were in states that rebelled against the Union were now free. In the lead-up to the end of the Civil War in April 1865, Union soldiers traveled throughout Confederate states to read the proclamation to slaves.
On June 19, 1865, federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to ensure that all slaves were freed. But the news had yet to reach the slaves in Texas, and they were the last to hear about their freedom. The following year, June 19 became a day of remembrance and “Jubilee Day” for the over 250,000 newly freed slaves. Juneteenth has since been widely celebrated in the African American community.
Madison’s annual Juneteenth Celebration at Penn Park was co-founded in 1990 by Annie Weatherby-Flowers and Mona Adams Winston.
Road to Federal Recognition
Texas became the first state to designate Juneteenth as a holiday in 1980. The summer of 2020’s nationwide protests against police brutality and demanding racial justice brought an increased awareness of Juneteenth and its significance. Houston artist Reginald Adams and his team created a Juneteenth mural in 2021, and his work has rippled across the U.S. Juneteenth murals have since been painted in 14 different cities.
On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden officially signed Juneteenth into law as the 11th federally recognized U.S. holiday.
How to Celebrate Juneteenth in Madison
- 🗓️ Unveiling Juneteenth Tour at Chazen Museum of Art
- 🗓️ Sun Prairie Juneteenth Celebration at Wetmore Park
- 🗓️ ‘American Fiction’ Screening at Hawthorne Library
- 🗓️ Madison Children’s Museum Celebration at Penn Park
