The statement that best explains the original sacrifices of Juneteenth is "Juneteenth commemorates the arrival of the Union army in Texas and the announcement that enslaved people were free." This date, June 19, 1865, marked a significant moment in American history when Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas and proclaimed the emancipation of enslaved individuals, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued. It symbolizes the sacrifices and struggles of African Americans who endured slavery and their subsequent fight for freedom.
