Juneteenth is a historic event that inspires progress toward equality and celebrates the nations resilience.

Historical significance: Juneteenth, considered the oldest African American holiday in the U.S., commemorates the emancipation of more than 250,000 enslaved African Americans in Texas – more than two and half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.

President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, to declare the end of slavery.

• While momentous, it was years before this news reached the farthest regions of the former Confederacy.

• The news of freedom was delivered June 19, 1865, with the arrival of federal troops in Galveston, Texas.

• In 2021, President Joe Biden signed a bill passed by Congress to make Juneteenth a U.S. federal holiday.