Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She typically covers breaking news, extreme weather and issues involving social justice. Emily Mae previously wrote for outlets like the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.
People across the country are coming together today in honor of Juneteenth, a federal holiday that marks the end of slavery in the United States after the Civil War. Also called Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, Juneteenth falls annually on June 19, the date in 1865 when Union troops brought the news to enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, that they had been freed.
Communities have paid homage to that date for well over a century, with the earliest documented Juneteenth celebrations dating back to the first anniversary of that emancipation in Galveston.
Juneteenth became a U.S. holiday under the Biden administration in 2021, with this year marking the fifth time it has been celebrated. Advocates note that for some, learning about the origins, evolution and significance of the holiday can be an important form of observance on its own, but public festivities have also grown tremendously since Juneteenth gained national recognition.
From small gatherings to enormous parades, art shows, educational workshops and more, here's a look at how towns and cities across the U.S. have been celebrating Juneteenth since it became a federal holiday.
Robert Reid holds a flag during a Juneteenth celebration at the African Burying Ground Memorial Park in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on June 19, 2025.
Michael Dwyer / AP
Residents of the historic Pullman neighborhood in Chicago celebrate Juneteenth with a parade and block party hosted by the National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum, honoring Black labor history and community pride, on June 19, 2025.
Octavio Jones / REUTERS
People cheer during the Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth concert at Times Square in New York City, June 19, 2025.
Angelina Katsanis / REUTERS
Girls from the No Mercy Dance Academy prepare to perform during an event to celebrate the Juneteenth federal holiday in Washington, D.C., June 19, 2025.
Kevin Mohatt / REUTERS
Kelsea and Kennedy Branford watch the Juneteenth parade in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 2025.
David J. Phillip / AP
People participate in a Juneteenth parade in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 2025,
David J. Phillip / AP
Lena Byrd-Miles, center, prepares to sing "Lift Every Voice" as part of the Juneteenth observance before a baseball game between the San Francisco Giants and the Cleveland Guardians in San Francisco on June 19, 2025.
Jeff Chiu / AP
A Juneteenth festival underway in Los Angeles, California, on June 15, 2025.
Kayla Oaddams / Getty Images
Singer Tymara Walker performs "Lift Every Voice and Sing," often referred to as the Black national anthem, during the 23rd annual Las Vegas Juneteenth Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 15, 2024.
L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal/@Left_Eye_Image via Getty Images
Spectators watch a Juneteenth parade in Galveston, Texas, in 2021.
Go Nakamura / Getty Images
The Juneteenth flag flies over the California state Capitol building in Sacramento on June 19, 2022.
Rich Pedroncelli / AP
Julien James carries his son, Maison, 4, holding a Pan-African flag to celebrate Juneteenth in Los Angeles, California, in 2022.
Damian Dovarganes / AP
Mekhi Thomas, right, and others participate in freestyle dancing during a Juneteenth health and wellness fair at Franklin Park in Washington, D.C., in 2023.
Andrew Harnik / AP
People carry posters of civil rights activist Rosa Parks, top, and scholar Omar Ibn Said, right, while marching in a 2023 Juneteenth parade in Boston, Massachusetts.
Steven Senne / AP
Christine Willis-Bennett, right, dressed to portray Harriet Jacobs, the author of "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," and others read the names of Black veterans at the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington, D.C., during a 2024 Juneteenth celebration.
Mark Schiefelbein / AP
A crowd watches the rapper Doug E. Fresh perform at a 2024 Juneteenth concert on the South Lawn of the White House.
Susan Walsh / AP
People participate in the 31st annual Juneteenth celebration in Harlem, New York, to mark the holiday in 2024.
Yuki Iwamura / AP
Bryan Stevenson, the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, speaks with civil rights activist JoAnne Bland after the dedication of the National Monument to Freedom in Montgomery, Alabama, on Juneteenth in 2024.
Kim Chandler / AP
Pictured on Juneteenth in 2024, the National Monument to Freedom is inscribed with 122,000 surnames that formerly enslaved people chose for themselves after being emancipated.
Kim Chandler / AP
Kansas City Royals players stand during a performance of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" at the Oakland Athletics' stadium in Oakland, California, on Juneteenth in 2024.
Jeff Chiu / AP
Musician Georgia Muldrow, left, and Bobby Jesus perform at a Juneteenth event in Los Angeles, California, in 2024.
Damian Dovarganes / AP
Nicknamed the "Grandmother of Juneteenth" because of her activism, Opal Lee and hundreds of supporters participate in the annual Walk for Freedom in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2021, to celebrate Juneteenth becoming a national holiday.
Amanda McCoy/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
A view of a section of the 1865 Juneteenth General Order No. 3 that is displayed by the Dallas Historical Society at the Fair Park Hall of State in Dallas, Friday, June 6, 2025.
LM Otero / AP
The Dwennimmen African Dance Community performs in front of the Pennsylvania Capitol during the Harrisburg Juneteenth parade on June 14, 2025.
Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She typically covers breaking news, extreme weather and issues involving social justice. Emily Mae previously wrote for outlets like the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.
