Many believe that September 22, 1862 marked the official end of slavery but in reality, many slaves that lived in the south weren’t freed until much later. The last of those slaves were freed on June 19, 1865 after the ‘Emancipation Proclamation’ was read on a harbor pier in Galveston, Texas. This date eventually became known as Juneteenth and in 1980 the state of Texas helped to make Juneteenth an official state holiday. Today the holiday is celebrated in more than 40 states throughout the country with parades, music festivals, old time revivals and African American exhibits. To help you celebrate the Juneteenth holiday we have compiled a few events being brought to you by the city of Houston.
