LANCASTER – Today is the Juneteenth holiday. It commemorates the emancipation of African Americans and is celebrated on the anniversary of the order by Major General Gordon Granger proclaiming freedom for enslaved people in Texas on June 19, 1865 – two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. The day was first recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, when President Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. On Juneteenth, federal and state government offices will be closed along with banks and there will be no home deliveries from the U.S. Postal Service.
