Juneteenth Survival: 150 Years of Black Community Preservation

As the United States marked the third federal Juneteenth holiday, historians and community organizers documented how Black Texans preserved the June 19 emancipation observance for 150 years despite Jim Crow suppression, lack of official recognition, and attempts to erase the holiday from public life. Churches, fraternal organizations, and families maintained the tradition when states refused to recognize it.