All Bishop State campuses will be closed on Monday, June 20, 2022 in observance of Juneteenth.
Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. The holiday is also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day.
Juneteenth (short for “June Nineteenth”) marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people were freed. The troops’ arrival came a full two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth honors the end to slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. On June 17, 2021, it officially became a federal holiday.
Facts About Juneteenth
- It is the oldest known holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the US.
- Texas was the first state to declare Juneteenth a state holiday.
- Juneteenth is the title of a book by author Ralph Ellison. Other books by Carolyn Meyer and Ann Rinaldi also center around the day.
- There is a Juneteenth Flag of Freedom. It is half red and half blue with a star in the middle. Each year a Juneteenth Flag raising ceremony is held in Galveston.
