Juneteenth

Monday, June 19; All Day

St. Mark's

Juneteenth is the annual celebration of the last enslaved African Americans hearing word of the end of the Civil War. 

On June 19, 1865, nearly two years after President Abraham Lincoln emancipated enslaved Africans in America, Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas with news of freedom. 

More than 250,000 African Americans embraced freedom by executive decree in what became known as Juneteenth or Freedom Day. With the principles of self-determination, citizenship, and democracy magnifying their hopes and dreams, those Texans held fast to the promise of true liberty for all.