The best statement explaining the original significance of Juneteenth is that it commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day or Freedom Day, marks the day when Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865, and announced General Order No. 3, which declared that all enslaved individuals in the state were now free. This announcement came over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, and it took time for news to spread to all areas. Juneteenth represents the symbolic end of slavery and is a celebration of African American freedom and heritage.
