Juneteenth Community Day

The National Civil Rights Museum celebrates the Juneteenth holiday on June 19 as a Community Day with free museum admission and a focus on health equity. This is the fourth year Juneteenth is observed as a federal holiday, and the museum welcomes all visitors to learn more about the origins and importance of the holiday and the stories of hard-fought freedom for all.

The museum’s Juneteenth Community Day will allow everyone free admission to explore this American history that illustrates the resilience and contributions of Black Americans. This year, the Museum will provide resources through community partners to provide health screenings and awareness around sickle cell anemia, a disease to which Black Americans are more prone.

Juneteenth dates back to June 19, 1865, when Union soldier, Major General Gordon Granger, arrived in Galveston, Texas with 6,000 Black American troops to inform enslaved Texans the Civil War had ended, they were then free, and to enforce the law passed more than two and half years prior. This population of Black Texans were denied their freedom since January 1, 1863, when President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.