Juneteenth is known to some in the United States as the country’s “second Independence Day.” Observed each year on June 19, the holiday marks the end of slavery in Texas at the end of the Civil War. 

For more than 150 years, African American communities across the country have observed this holiday—from social gatherings in Emancipation Parks to church services and other events. But Juneteenth has increasingly been celebrated nationwide; in 2021 it became the first new federal holiday since the establishment of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983. How did that happen? Here’s a look at the history of Juneteenth.

At the stroke of midnight on January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation