What it is
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that enslaved people there were free. That was more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
Celebrations include family gatherings, cookouts, parades and readings of General Order No. 3.
Is it a day off?
Federal employees get the day off, moved to Friday when June 19 is a Saturday and to Monday when it is a Sunday. Banks and the stock market close. Adoption by private employers is still growing, so check your company's holiday list.
History
Texas made Juneteenth a state holiday in 1980. President Joe Biden signed it into federal law on June 17, 2021, making it the newest federal holiday and the first added since Martin Luther King Jr. Day.