This year will mark the 156th year of Juneteenth; the oldest known celebration honoring the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, Union General Gordon Granger led thousands of federal troops to Galveston, Texas, to announce that the Civil War had ended, and slaves had been freed. Unfortunately, approximately 250,000 Texan slaves had no idea the government had secured their freedom.

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The purpose of this guide is to help create your Juneteenth into a day of Learning, Listening, Reflecting, and Celebrating!