Juneteenth is an American holiday that honors the institutions of Liberty and Freedom for all. Like the Nation’s celebration of independence held on July 4th, June 19th commemorates freedom from the cruel bonds of slavery experienced by over 6.8 million African Americans. While the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 declared freedom for over 3.9 million slaves, 2.9 million were still being held captive in Southern States. Even as the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolished slavery in January 1865, it took the combined efforts of freed and escaped Blacks, Abolitionists, both Black and White, and the weight of the Union Army to ensure compliance with established Proclamations and Laws and effect true freedom. On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, TX. His reading of General Order No. 3 liberated the last remaining contingent of African American slaves, thus legally ending 250 years of slavery in the United States. In 2021, Congress passed legislation to commemorate the 156th anniversary of June 19th by making it an official Federal Holiday, the first since Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was passed into law in 1983.