Murfreesboro to Celebrate Juneteenth on June 20

Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865, when Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and issued General Order No. 3, announcing that all enslaved people were free—more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. The news sparked a wave of celebration, mourning, and long‑awaited relief among more than 250,000 enslaved Black Texans. Families began marking the anniversary in 1866 with gatherings, music, food and remembrance, traditions that spread across the country over generations.