COSI Celebrates Juneteenth!

On January 1st, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, aiming to free all enslaved people who were in Confederate states. However, this new law did not free all slaves right away. Freedom did not come for around 250,000 enslaved people in the Confederate state of Texas until June 19th, 1865, when Union soldiers went to Galveston Bay, Texas to deliver the news.

One year later, Juneteenth, which is short for June 19th, became a celebration for newly freed people in Galveston. Many communities of color and states across the nation have been celebrating Juneteenth as a holiday in their own ways, but it became a federal holiday in the United States on June 17th, 2021.

To learn more about the history behind Juneteenth, check out these resources linked below!
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Boys and Girls Club of America