According to a Gallop study, more Americans are familiar with Juneteenth this year compared to last year.
The Emancipation Proclamation was implemented on January 1, 1862, declaring "that all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states are, and henceforward shall be free." However, it took two years for the Union army to make their way to Texas to enforce this proclamation on June 19, 1865. This date is behind the naming of "Juneteenth." A common misconception is that Juneteenth ended slavery throughout the United States. Not until the 13th Amendment was ratified on December 6, 1865, did slavery end. And even then, it wasn't long until the "Jim Crow" era began. Find out more about Juneteenth, the Reconstruction Amendments, and slavery's long-lasting impacts on Black Americans here.
Source: Gallup