On June 19, 1862, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives declared, “There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in any of the Territories of the United States now existing, or which may at any time hereafter be formed or acquired by the United States, otherwise than in punishment of crimes whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.”
Exactly three years later, Major General Gordon Granger finally spread the news of freedom from slavery to African Americans residing in Texas.
Bexar County declared Juneteenth a holiday in 2020. In 2021, roughly a year after the killing of George Floyd, Juneteenth became an official U.S. holiday signed into law by President Biden, the first such day to obtain legal observance as a federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was designated in 1983.
San Antonio offers many diverse gatherings and celebrations in June to commemorate this occasion — most publicly, the Juneteenth Freedom Parade, scheduled for Saturday, June 15. The event grows in attendance annually.
Free, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Sam Houston High School, 4635 E. Houston St. (Parade route starts at the school and ends at Comanche Park #2, 2600 Rigsby Ave.), bexarcountyjuneteenth.com.
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This article appears in Jun 12-25, 2024.