Every year, June 19 is celebrated to mark the end of slavery in the United States.
But this year, millions of people across the country are commemorating it like never before. Crowds of people attended marches and rallies Friday, carrying on the momentum of weeks of protests against systemic racism.
It was on this day in 1865 when Major General Gordon Granger announced in Galvelston, Texas that the Civil War had ended and all slaves in the state were free. The Emancipation Proclamation was issued two years earlier, but Texans continued to hold slaves. With this declaration, slavery effectively ended in what was left of the Confederacy.
Black Americans have traditionally commemorated Juneteenth with marches, memorials, and other events. This year, marches were bigger, more widespread, and more diverse amid the bright spotlight on police brutality, the coronavirus pandemic, and rising unemployment — all of which have disproportionately affected people of color. Calls to make Juneteenth a federal holiday have gotten even louder, with senators introducing legislation on Friday to do just that.
Below are photos from just some of the Juneteenth events that took place across the United States.
A protester holds a sign during a Juneteenth rally at City Hall in New York on June 19, 2020.
Credit: TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP via Getty Images
Demonstrators take part in a Juneteenth march and rally in downtown Washington, D.C. on June 19, 2020.
Credit: OLIVIER DOULIERY / AFP via Getty Images
People carry a symbolic empty casket draped with an American flag during a Juneteenth march and celebration in the Greenwood District of the Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 19, 2020.
Credit: Win McNamee / Getty Images
People demonstrate marking Juneteenth in Washington, D.C., on June 19, 2020.
Credit: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images
Healthcare workers cheer on people who are marching to the Georgia State Capitol during a Juneteenth event organized by the One Race Movement on June 19, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Credit: Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Protesters gather outside of the Wilson Building to support Black Lives Matter and to mark the liberation of slavery on June 19, 2020 in Washington, D.C.
Credit: Michael A. McCoy / Getty Images
Protesters cross the Brooklyn Bridge during a Juneteenth rally in New York on June 19, 2020.
Credit: TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP via Getty Images
Members of the Washington Wizards and Washington Mystics basketball teams march past the National Archives on their way to the MLK Memorial to mark the Juneteenth holiday June 19, 2020 in Washington, D.C.
Credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
People participate in a march in Brooklyn for both Black Lives Matter and to commemorate the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth on June 19, 2020 in New York City.
Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A man kneels and raises his fist in the air for eight minutes and 46 seconds — the time that George Floyd was pinned under a police officer's knee before he was killed — during a march and protest to mark the Juneteenth holiday at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on June 19, 2020 in Washington, D.C.
Credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
