Fast facts:
Juneteenth, the newest U.S. federal holiday (recognized in 2021) falls on Wednesday, June 19th in 2024.Banks, federal offices, most state offices, and the stock market are all closed on Juneteenth. Most major retail stores and restaurants will remain open on Juneteenth.
What is Juneteenth? When is it?
Juneteenth became the newest U.S. federal holiday in 2021, but it has been celebrated by Black Americans since June 19, 1865.
Its name comes from a blend of the words “June” and “nineteenth,” and it commemorates the moment when Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, arrived in Galveston, Texas, and told the 250,000 enslaved people in the state that they were finally free.
In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which stated that “all persons held as slaves … shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” However, it took more than two years for Confederate troops in the country’s furthest reaches to surrender, and nearly one million people remained enslaved.
The Civil War officially ended at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865, although information traveled slowly — some slaveholders even withheld the news from their slaves — and the institution of slavery was not officially abolished until the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified on December 6, 1865.
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Today, Juneteenth is a time for both celebration and reflection on the struggle for freedom. Also known as “Emancipation Day,” “Jubilee Day,” and “Black Independence Day,” Juneteenth is commemorated with parades, barbecues, historical reenactments, church services, and other social gatherings.
Like the 4th of July, many companies give their employees the day off, and while banks and federal offices are closed on Juneteenth, most retail stores stay open.
Opal Lee, known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” received a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden in 2024.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Is Juneteenth a federal holiday and a state holiday?
Since Juneteenth is a newer holiday, there has been some confusion as to who gets the day off: Federal offices are closed on Juneteenth, and most non-essential federal employees have the day off.
Most states have also authorized Juneteenth as a state holiday, although whether or not state workers receive holiday pay for the day varies by state. According to the Pew Research Center, as of 2023, more than half (28) U.S. states and the District of Columbia now recognize Juneteenth as an official state holiday.
That means that their state government offices are closed and workers receive holiday pay.
State workers who get Juneteenth as a paid holiday
Pew Research Center
Alabama
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
Nevada
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Ohio
Oregon
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Tennessee
Utah
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Other states have contingent policies. North Carolina considers Juneteenth a floating holiday, and some state workers get the day off. In California, state workers have the choice of using Juneteenth as a personal holiday. The state of Pennsylvania considers Juneteenth to be an official annual observance, and only some state employees have the day off.
What does that mean for consumers? If you need to get your driver’s license renewed on Juneteenth, your local DMV may be closed. Check with your local DMV to determine its specific holiday hours.
Here’s a list of other Juneteenth-related business hours:
Is the stock market closed on Juneteenth?
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Nasdaq follow the federal holiday schedule, which means they will both be closed on Juneteenth.
Are banks closed on Juneteenth?
Most banks follow the Federal Reserve’s holiday calendar, and so they will also be closed in observance of Juneteenth on Wednesday, June 19, 2024.
Is the post office open on Juneteenth?
Since Juneteenth is a federal holiday, the U.S. Postal Service will not be operating on the Juneteenth holiday. The post office encourages customers to schedule their package deliveries to arrive ahead of time to avoid delays.
However, other delivery services, like FedEx and UPS, will be fully operating on Juneteenth, providing both pickup and delivery services.
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Which stores are open on Juneteenth?
Most big retailers, including Costco, Target, Walmart, will be open on Juneteenth — and some will even have holiday-specific sales. Grocery stores, such as Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Aldi, Kroger, Stop & Shop, and Acme, will also be operating on a regular schedule.
Specialty retailers, such as Dollar General, Best Buy, REI, and Ikea, will remain open during regular store hours, as will Starbucks.
And while all of these stores will be open, several also recognize Juneteenth as a company holiday, and offer their employees time-and-a-half for working on it.
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How did Juneteenth become a federal holiday?
In 2021, President Joe Biden established June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day, making it the first federal holiday to be created since Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in 1983.
If June 19 occurs during the week, Juneteenth is observed on that day; if it falls on a weekend, the federal government observes it on a Friday or a Monday. In 2024, Juneteenth will be observed on Wednesday, June 19.
The earliest Juneteenth celebrations took place as early as 1866 in Fort Worth, Texas. In the following decades, they grew throughout the South, although during the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement, which involved protests against racial discrimination and segregation across the country, took the spotlight. Efforts were made to designate Juneteenth as a national holiday through the 90s and early 2000s.
In 2016, an 89-year-old activist, Opal Lee, brought new attention to Juneteenth as well as renewed focus on Congressional recognition of the holiday. She embarked on a 1,400-mile walk between Fort Worth and Washington, D.C., and through each state she crossed, she raised awareness — and generated tons of media attention — for Black Independence Day.
Due to rising political tensions stemming from the 2016 Presidential election, her route was not continuous; rather, she journeyed through states she received invitations to walk in, and they included Louisiana, Colorado, Wisconsin, Arkansas, and Pennsylvania, to name a few.
Lee reached Washington on January 10, 2017, where she became known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth.”
“I decided, if a little old lady in tennis shoes was walking toward Washington, D.C., somebody would take notice.”
—Opal Lee, 2022 interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Juneteenth held personal meaning for Lee. She was only 12 years old when her family moved from Marshall, Texas to a home on the 900 block of East Annie Street in an all-white neighborhood in Fort Worth. On June 19, 1939, an angry mob of 500 people set fire to her home, forcing her family to flee.
Civil War reenactors carry the official Juneteenth flag, which features red, white, and blue colors along with a bursting star in the middle and the words “June 19, 1865.”
Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua via Getty Images
Lee carried her experiences with her throughout her career as an elementary school teacher, and later, an activist. She co-founded the Tarrant County Black Historical and Genealogical Society and helped organize the city’s annual Juneteenth celebration. She also started a nonprofit, Unity Unlimited, a 10-acre farm that provided fresh, healthy produce for neighbors in need.
But Lee had always wondered what happened to her family’s land over the years, and when she learned that her old property had been purchased by Habitat for Humanity, she approached them with an offer. “They wouldn’t sell it to me,” she told ABC News. Instead, “they gave it to me.”
On May 3, 2024, Lee received a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest award a civilian can receive.
“Some people think of Juneteenth as a ‘Black Holiday — it’s not. It’s a day for all Americans to celebrate and appreciate our freedom. It’s a historic day for all of us. As one nation, under God, none of us are free until we are all free.”
—Opal Lee, Farmers.gov blog
Juneteenth became even more of a mainstream holiday in 2020. After the wrongful deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and others due to police brutality, protests erupted across the country in support of racial equity and social justice.
It was a time of racial reckoning, and Juneteenth became more prominent; in 2020 alone, nine states declared it as a state holiday in addition to a federal one.
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