On June 19, 1865, slavery officially ended in the United States when Union troops brought freedom by way of a general order to 250,000 enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas. It was a final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation issued nearly two years earlier by President Abraham Lincoln. Annual celebrations on June 19 were initiated the following year in church communities and gradually spread around the country, commemorating the day.

Today, SBDC-OC joins in the joyful celebration of Juneteenth and its designation as a federal holiday. Offices are closed until Friday, June 20. To learn more about Juneteenth, visit the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture at http://bit.ly/4narfqe