Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, commemorates date in 1865 – nearly two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation – when the last of the enslaved communities in Texas learned the Civil War had ended and that they were free. Celebrated on June 19, the term is a combination of June and nineteenth and has become a celebration of independence, the fight for equality, and Black culture.