Juneteenth is now one of 11 permanent federal holidays in the United States. As it is a national holiday, government offices, post offices, libraries, schools and stock markets are closed.As for banks, most are closed on this day. These include Bank of America and Wells Fargo and credit unions. However, some services are available at ATMs and mobile banking apps.
Why is Juneteenth Day celebrated?
Juneteenth Day [June (junio) y Nineteenth (diecinueve)] It is commemorated on June 19 every year. This day is also known as Emancipation Day and Independence Day in America.
In 2021, President Joe Biden signed legislation recognizing the day as a new official national holiday. But this is not a recent commemoration, rather it has been celebrated for a long time.
Previously, 47 of the 50 US states and the District of Columbia celebrated Juneteenth every June 19.
This date commemorates the events of June 19, 1865 in Galveston, Texas. At the time, the last black slaves in the Confederacy were ordered freed after the arrival of Union troops. Thus, it ended slavery in the country.
For its part, the Emancipation Proclamation, signed in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln, granted freedom to all slaves. However, the effect was not so immediate, and it took two years for independence to become a collective reality.
In 1865, Union soldiers in Galveston announced to slaves that they were free, and about 250,000 were freed. This occurred two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, the last time the state of Texas abolished slavery.
