Juneteenth, also known as Juneteenth National Independence Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on June 19th each year. It commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the US. The name
"Juneteenth" is a combination of "June" and "nineteenth" and is also referred to as "Freedom Day" or
"Emancipation Day." 

On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger of the Union Army arrived in Galveston, Texas, and issued General Order No. 3, which declared that all slaves in Texas were free. This announcement came more than two years after
President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which had become effective on January 1, 1863. 

Juneteenth marks our country’s second independence day. Although it has long been celebrated in the African American community, this monumental event remains largely unknown to most Americans. 

Pay It Forward’s presentation and podcast discusses the history of Juneteenth and its aftermath,
including Reconstruction, the Compromise of 1877, Jim Crow laws. Topics also include observances of and the message of Juneteenth.