Last year, her efforts were finally acknowledged when President Joe Biden signed a bill, making it a federally recognized holiday. Miami-Dade County had already declared it a paid holiday in October 2020.
A fusion of the words "June" and "nineteenth," Juneteenth marks the day the last enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, were freed on June 19, 1865, two-and-a-half years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Annual regional celebrations in cities like Galveston were revived throughout the country last year, with even more events slated to take place this year. And, yes, New Times has already witnessed cringe-worthy attempts from corporate machines trying to commercialize the holiday, such as Walmart's Juneteenth ice cream backlash and, most recently, an Indianapolis museum issuing an apology after serving an offensive Juneteenth watermelon salad.
Instead of being inundated by jubilee paper plates (conveniently positioned next to Pride mugs), here is New Times' guide to local Juneteenth events you can attend to commemorate its significance to African-Americans.
