By Mel Wilson, NASW Senior Policy Advisor
Juneteenth, now a federal holiday, recognizes the day in 1865 when the last remaining enslaved people in Galveston, Texas were set free by Union troops—two whole years after the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves nationwide.
While this federal holiday is a celebration of liberation and resilience, it also stands as a powerful reminder of the systemic injustices that persisted long after slavery ended. While it took the rest of the country to catch up, Juneteenth had been recognized as a special date for Black Americans for many decades —particularly African Americans from southern states.
This year’s Juneteenth feels especially timely, echoing the political and social unrest of post-Reconstruction America. It’s more than a holiday—it’s a call to remember, reflect, and act.
It is somewhat prophetic that this year’s Juneteenth comes at a time when the nation is engulfed in political and social justice turmoil—echoes of post-Reconstruction America. Given its historic importance and its connection to current events, Juneteenth must not be seen in isolation or treated as just another holiday.
The day that the Union Troops rode into Galveston and informed the last enslaved people in America that they were now free was almost immediately followed by the beginning of significant legislative actions—namely the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments — known collectively as the Reconstruction Amendments. These laws are reminders that freedom is not simply declared—it has to be enforced and protected.
Here’s how these amendments intersected with Juneteenth:
The 13th Amendment (1865):
Passed just months after Juneteenth, the 13th Amendment abolished slavery nationwide, ending a system that had been in place for nearly 250 years.
The 14th Amendment (1868):
It granted citizenship to anyone born or naturalized in the U.S.—including former slaves. This amendment is also consistently invoked in the legal challenges to Trump’s most anti-civil rights executive orders. The 14th Amendment’s provisions include equal protection under the law and guarantees due process as well. This amendment transformed the ideals behind Juneteenth—freedom and belonging—into constitutional guarantees.
The 15th Amendment (1870):
This amendment gave formerly enslaved people access to coveted political power via the right to vote. The amendment explicitly prohibited federal and state governments from denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous servitude. The protected right to vote not only meant inclusion in full citizenship rights, but also having the power to shape the nation’s future equal that of white Americans.
This is not to suggest that the road from Juneteenth 1865 to today’s political and social tensions has been without struggles. Notably, the hopes and dreams of equality after the passage of the Reconstruction Amendments were dashed —especially in the former Confederate states— with the end of Reconstruction, which ushered in close to 100 years of the Jim Crow era.
Additionally, even though the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act of the 1960s restored hope, the nation is now challenged with the sweeping attacks on civil rights and voting rights in the Trump era. For those reasons Juneteenth 2025 is as profoundly relevant now as it was in 1865.
For example, this year is the first Juneteenth holiday when the Trump administrations Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Executive Orders (EO) are in place. Without going into the weeds about the EO on DEI and the Smithsonian Museum, each is an affront to the nation’s century old — and mostly effective —civil rights movements, equity policies and laws to ensure that we live up to the ideals and social justice ethos represented by Juneteenth. The Trump administration’s EOs articulate a far-right agenda to undermine those gains.
In truth, the administration’s DEI executive order has already begun to chip away at acceptance of Juneteenth as a national holiday. For example, it has been reported that :
- Juneteenth celebrations have been scaled back this year due to funding shortfalls as companies and municipalities across the country reconsider their support for diversity, equity and inclusion
- The governor’s office in West Virginia stated that the state won’t be hosting any Juneteenth events this year for the first time since 2017 due to a budget deficit.
- City Council members in Scottsdale, Arizona, dissolved their DEI office in February, which led to the cancellation of the city’s annual Juneteenth festival.
Recognizing Juneteenth as a paradigm for social justice means acknowledging that true liberation requires ongoing action to dismantle inequality. More importantly, America as a whole must embrace Juneteenth as a national holiday that signifies how far America has come from the standpoint of civil and human rights. Juneteenth also reminds us of all that — in spite of the gains— there has been and will probably always be those who perversely view civil rights laws and policies of inclusion as somehow being an infringement of the rights of others.
Celebrating Juneteenth as a seminal event in American history helps to define America and cannot be erased by executive orders. Juneteenth speaks to the fact that freedom is not just the absence of chains—it’s the presence of civil rights, legal protections, and an equal voice.
