A. Scott Bolden June 19, 2026, 6:01 a.m. ET Juneteenth (short for June 19th), which became a federal holiday in 2021, marks the end of the nightmare of slavery and the dawn of a new beginning for African Americans. The holiday falls on June 19 because on that date in 1865, U.S. troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to ensure that some of the last enslaved people were freed following the Civil War. Many in the Black community have celebrated Juneteenth for generations.