Watch: Juneteenth is a festival of freedom for African Americans

“You can’t really celebrate freedom in America by just going with the Fourth of July”

During the Civil War, Texas joined the Confederacy. When Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation marking the end of slavery, Texan slaveholders were able to keep men and women in bondage for two-and-a-half more years. The Juneteenth festival marks the date when that finally changed and has become a widespread celebration of freedom in the black community.

Watch: Juneteenth is a festival of freedom for African Americans was originally published in Timeline on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.