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, and across Minnesota and the country, events are being held to recognize the end of slavery in the United States.

The word “Juneteenth” is a combination of the words “June” and “nineteenth.” On that day in 1865, enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned from Union soldiers that the Civil War had ended and slavery was over. They were now free. 

 President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which became official on Jan. 1, 1863.

Why did it take so long for the news to reach them? Was it deliberately withheld from enslaved people by owners in Confederate states that refused to comply with Lincoln’s order? Did someone literally kill the messenger tasked with spreading the word? 

What we know for sure is that this year, 155 years later, there is more interest than ever in Juneteenth and its significance. 

Companies and states are stepping up their observance of the holiday, and there is a renewed effort to make Juneteeenth a national holiday, too.

MPR News host Angela Davis talks to two historians about the history and meaning of Juneteenth and how we should commemorate it today.

Use the audio player above to listen to the program.

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Friday is Juneteenth, and across Minnesota and the country, events are being held to recognize the end of slavery in the United States.


MPR News with Angela Davis - The meaning of Juneteenth and how we should commemorate it today

Juneteenth Emancipation Day Celebration, June 19, 1900, Texas

The history of Juneteenth and how we should commemorate it today

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