Mark Juneteenth

One of the Best Things To Do in NYC for Locals and Tourists is to celebrate Mark Juneteenth. The end of slavery in the United States is celebrated and remembered on Juneteenth. Two and a half years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, Union soldiers delivered the good news that the war was done and the slaves had been freed to Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865. The event was renamed "Juneteenth" and turned into a time for family reunions and prayer. Later, it was widely observed in Texas, where many former slaves and their descendants would travel back to Galveston on this day every year, according to Juneteenth.com.

Juneteenth is approaching, so get ready! Since the late 1800s, Black Americans have celebrated Juneteenth, but in 2020, the festival received fresh prominence as Black Lives Matter protesters demanded (and continue to demand) substantive policy reforms in response to George Floyd's killing at the hands of police officers.

Last year, NYC and New York declared Juneteenth a legal holiday for the first time. It's finally a federal holiday this year.

• What is it? Juneteenth is the celebration and commemoration of the end of slavery in the U.S. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers brought news to Galveston, Texas that the war was over and slaves were free (this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.)