Juneteenth, also known as “Freedom Day,” is a holiday that celebrates the abolition of slavery in Texas. Although the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, some states under Confederate jurisdiction did not implement it until years later. It wasn’t until June 19, 1865 that Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, and Union General Gordon Granger announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in the state were free by executive decree.

This holiday marks our second independence day and is the oldest nationally celebrated remembrance of the ending of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth brought a new era for people to shape identities independent of racial character, promote ethnic pride, and create economic prosperity for generations to come.

Check out the events below for places to celebrate Juneteenth in Austin with your friends and family this year.

To learn more about Black-owned businesses to support and Austin’s Black cultural history check out our Guide to Black-Owned Austin.