Originally celebrated by newly freed Black communities in Texas with religious services, barbecues and symbolic traditions like discarding clothing worn during enslavement, the holiday has since grown beyond Texas and the South.

The United States’ newest federal holiday, celebrated annually on June 19, has quickly become its most puzzling one. Four years after President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National

For generations, Black Americans have recognized the end of one of history’s darkest chapters with joy — such as parades or cookouts.