NYC Public Schools Celebrate Juneteenth on June 20

On Sunday, June 19, millions of Americans will be celebrating Juneteenth, our nation’s official holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people across the United States. Celebrated annually since 1865, this year’s Juneteenth is the first time that it will be officially recognized as a holiday on Monday, June 20, across NYC public schools. Juneteenth—a portmanteau of “June” and “nineteen”—celebrates the day in 1865 when 2,000 Union soldiers, led by General Gordon Granger, marched into Galveston, Texas, and ordered the freedom of more than 250,000 Black people who were still enslaved across the state despite the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier.

This historic “Jubilee Day,” as it was first called, was celebrated by Black people across Texas initially before it spread throughout the South, and then, eventually, the rest of the country. Today, Juneteenth is both a day of celebration and a day of reflection, as we recognize the progress our nation has made since 1865 while also examining the ongoing legal, economic, social, and physical violence perpetrated against Black Americans in the decades that followed emancipation.

Learning about Juneteenth is part of the broader education of the practice, impact, and legacy of slavery on the United States as a whole—and this history is absolutely critical to understanding who we are as a nation. To learn more about Juneteenth, visit our official Juneteenth page, where you can find teaching and learning resources for students, educators, and families. On the page, you’ll also find links to digital exhibits, booklists, events, and other media that will help you to better understand the history of Juneteenth and its significance today to New Yorkers, Black Americans, and to the United States.

On behalf of the NYC Department of Education, we wish everyone a joyous and enlightening Juneteenth.

Banner photo by Greta Hoffman. Used under Creative Commons license. Original photo can be found on Pexels.