“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”
June 19, 1865 — the day that word of slavery’s end reached Texas, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation — is now celebrated today as Juneteenth, America’s second independence day. (read more from the Smithsonaian Magazine, “Juneteenth: Our Other Independence Day.”
Check out this talk about Juneteenth by faculty member Amani Wazwaz: