On June 19, 1865, enslaved African Americans in Texas were told they were free. A century and a half later, people across the U.S. continue to celebrate the day, which is now a federal holiday.

Deriving its name from combining "June" and "nineteenth", it is celebrated on the anniversary of the order, issued by Major General Gordon Granger on June 19, 1865, proclaiming freedom for slaves in Texas. Originating in Galveston, Juneteenth has since been observed annually in various parts of the United States, often broadly celebrating African-American culture. The day was first recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law after the efforts of Lula Briggs Galloway, Opal Lee, and others.

The Juneteenth March was founded as a march to New York City Hall in 2020 to highlight multiple injustices and reforms at the center of the city's power. The march was initially started by James Felton Keith and Tiffany Rea-Fisher, two neighbors in Harlem that came together with a larger group of activists weeks earlier and after the murder of George Floyd. It was a beautiful non-violent march from Harlem down 5th Ave to the Upper East Side of Manhattan that grew to thousands of New Yorkers as it moved south, ending just blocks from where the Juneteenth March would come to start in Central Park. Afterwards, the team was still intact and decided to evolve the original march into an event promoting and celebrating the national Juneteenth holiday, which commemorates the emancipation of African American slaves, via health, wellness and economic initiatives.

Juneteenth March, Inc.

Juneteenth March 2022