Why Juneteenth Is a Federal Holiday

In June 2021, President Joe Biden signed a bill designating Juneteenth—the longstanding commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States—as a federal holiday. Juneteenth quickly gained traction across the country, with 59 percent of American adults reporting that they knew “a lot” or “some” about the holiday in 2022, up from 37 percent in 2021, according to a Gallup poll.