Friday is the 155th anniversary of the day — June 19, 1865 — when Gen. Gordon Granger read aloud in Galveston, Texas, federal orders that made all slaves in Texas free. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on Sept. 22, 1862, formally freeing enslaved people.
The news, though, didn’t travel to Texas, where there weren’t many union soldiers who had fought and won the Civil War. It wasn’t until Granger read the orders in Galveston that all slaves were officially free.
The date has become known as “Juneteenth,” a combination of June and 19th. It’s a state holiday in Texas, and the UFC is now recognizing it as a holiday.