People across the country will come together today in honor of Juneteenth, a federal holiday that marks the end of slavery in the United States after the Civil War. Also called Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, Juneteenth falls annually on June 19, the date in 1865 when the last enslaved groups in Texas were officially freed.
Communities have paid homage to that date for well over a century, with the earliest documented Juneteenth celebrations dating back to the first anniversary of emancipation in Galveston, Texas, where the news of independence first reached the state a year prior.
Juneteenth became a U.S. holiday under the Biden administration in 2021. Advocates note that for some, learning about the origins, evolution and significance of the holiday can be an important form of observance on its own, but public festivities have also grown tremendously since Juneteenth gained national recognition.
From small gatherings to enormous parades, art shows, educational workshops and more, here's how towns and cities across the U.S. celebrate Juneteenth.
Spectators watch a Juneteenth parade in Galveston, Texas, in 2021.
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The Juneteenth flag flies over the California state Capitol building in Sacramento on June 19, 2022.
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Julien James carries his son, Maison, 4, holding a Pan-African flag to celebrate Juneteenth in Los Angeles, California, in 2022.
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Mekhi Thomas, right, and others participate in freestyle dancing during a Juneteenth health and wellness fair at Franklin Park in Washington, D.C., in 2023.
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People carry posters of civil rights activist Rosa Parks, top, and scholar Omar Ibn Said, right, while marching in a 2023 Juneteenth parade in Boston, Massachusetts.
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Christine Willis-Bennett, right, dressed to portray Harriet Jacobs, the author of "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," and others read the names of Black veterans at the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington, D.C., during a 2024 Juneteenth celebration.
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A crowd watches the rapper Doug E. Fresh perform at a 2024 Juneteenth concert on the South Lawn of the White House.
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People participate in the 31st annual Juneteenth celebration in Harlem, New York, to mark the holiday in 2024.
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Bryan Stevenson, the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, speaks with civil rights activist JoAnne Bland after the dedication of the National Monument to Freedom in Montgomery, Alabama, on Juneteenth in 2024.
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Pictured on Juneteenth in 2024, the National Monument to Freedom is inscribed with 122,000 surnames that formerly enslaved people chose for themselves after being emancipated.
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Kansas City Royals players stand during a performance of Lift Every Voice, the Black national anthem, on at the Oakland Athletics' stadium in Oakland, California, on Juneteenth in 2024.
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Musician Georgia Muldrow, left, and Bobby Jesus perform at a Juneteenth event in Los Angeles, California, in 2024.
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Nicknamed the "Grandmother of Juneteenth" because of her activism, Opal Lee and hundreds of supporters participate in the annual Walk for Freedom in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2021, to celebrate Juneteenth becoming a national holiday.
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Emily Mae Czachor