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A Day for Reflection and Celebration
Today is Juneteenth, a day that commemorates the ending of slavery in the United States. Although President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863, it wasn’t until two and a half years later – June 19, 1865 – that the formerly enslaved Black people of Galveston, Texas, finally learned that they were freed from slavery. African Americans have long celebrated this day in tribute to their freedom, traditions, culture, and notable accomplishments.