On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing those enslaved in territories in rebellion. This information moved so slowly through the south that some of those enslaved in Texas did not receive this information for more than two years. On June 19, 1865, Union Soldiers arrived in Texas and spread the word that the people who had been enslaved there were officially free.
Join the AAMI via Zoom for the June installment in the Heritage Spotlight Lecture Series to learn more about the impact of slavery in the United States, how Juneteenth came to be, and the ways in which many communities have celebrated in the past and continue today.
