Freedom & Hope: The Legacy of Juneteenth

Ages 16 & Up: President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, which declared “that all persons held as slaves [in the Southern states which had seceded] …are, and henceforward shall be free.” But for enslaved people in remote areas of Texas, it would be two more years before they were told that their freedom had been granted. Learn more about the origins of this “second Independence Day” and how local Black communities have celebrated it through the years.