NEW YORK—Last week, President Biden officially declared Juneteenth—June 19—a federal holiday. Juneteenth marks the day that Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in the summer of 1865 and freed more than 150,000 Black Americans, who had remained enslaved despite President Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation nearly two years earlier. The anniversary has long been important to the Black community in the United States, and after nationwide Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, more and more U.S.-based organizations began to acknowledge this important day, too. Many have pointed out that although making Juneteenth a federal holiday is a heartening, positive step, it should not be the end all and be all when it comes to honoring the experience and history of Black Americans. Read More