Editing Juneteenth (section)

== Celebrations and traditions==
[[File: What is Juneteenth video about the House Democrats.ogg|thumb|''What Is Juneteenth?'', a 2020 video by the [[House Democratic Caucus]]]]
[[File:Performers demonstrate traditional African song and dance.jpg|thumb|Traditional African dance and music performed for Juneteenth, 2019]]

The holiday is considered the "longest-running African-American holiday"{{sfn|Knight|2011|p=}} and has been called "America's second Independence Day".<ref name="HistoricalLegacy">{{cite web |title=The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth |url=https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/historical-legacy-juneteenth |website=National Museum of African American History and Culture |publisher=Smithsonian.com |access-date=June 19, 2023 |archive-date=June 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230618092505/https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/historical-legacy-juneteenth |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NatGeo">{{cite web |title=What is Juneteenth—and how did it become a federal holiday? |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/juneteenth |website=History and Culture Explainer |publisher=National Geographic |access-date=June 19, 2023 |date=June 12, 2023 |archive-date=June 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230619235200/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/juneteenth |url-status=dead }}</ref> Juneteenth falls on June&nbsp;19 and has often been celebrated on the third Saturday in June. Historian Mitch Kachun considers that celebrations of the end of slavery have three goals: "to celebrate, to educate, and to agitate."{{sfn|Hume|Arceneaux|2008|p=156}}

Early celebrations consisted of [[baseball]], fishing, and rodeos. African Americans were often prohibited from using public facilities for their celebrations, so they were often held at churches or near water. Celebrations were characterized by elaborate large meals and people wearing their best clothing.{{sfn|Knight|2011|p=}} It was common for formerly enslaved people and their descendants to make a [[pilgrimage]] to Galveston.{{sfn|Jaynes|2005|p=}} As early festivals received news coverage, Janice Hume and Noah Arceneaux consider that they "served to assimilate African-American memories within the dominant 'American story{{'"}}.{{sfn|Hume|Arceneaux|2008|p=159}}

Modern observance is primarily in local celebrations.<ref name=":8" /> In many places, Juneteenth has become a [[multiculturalism|multicultural]] holiday.{{sfn|Hume|Arceneaux|2008|p=158}} Traditions include public readings of the [[Emancipation Proclamation]] which promised freedom, singing traditional songs such as "[[Swing Low, Sweet Chariot]]" and "[[Lift Every Voice and Sing]]", and reading of works by noted African-American writers, such as [[Ralph Ellison]] and [[Maya Angelou]].<ref name=":8">Taylor, 2002. pp. 28–29.</ref> Celebrations include picnics, [[rodeo]]s, street fairs, cookouts, [[family reunion]]s, park parties, [[historical reenactment]]s, [[blues]] festivals, and Miss Juneteenth contests.{{sfn|Knight|2011|p=}}{{sfn|Jaynes|2005|p=}}<ref name="moskin2004" /><ref name="NYTfood">{{cite news |last1=Taylor |first1=Nicole |date=June 13, 2017 |title=Hot Links and Red Drinks: The Rich Food Tradition of Juneteenth |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/dining/juneteenth-food-slavery-abolition.html |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604150903/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/dining/juneteenth-food-slavery-abolition.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Acosta |first=Teresa Palomo |date=June 15, 2010 |title=Juneteenth |url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/lkj01 |access-date=June 5, 2020 |website=Texas Historical Society |archive-date=June 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606030833/https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/lkj01 |url-status=live }}</ref> Red food and drinks are traditional during the celebrations, including [[red velvet cake]] and [[List of soft drink flavors|strawberry soda]], with red meant to represent resilience and joy.<ref name="NYTfood" />{{sfn|Jaynes|2005|p=}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Amen |first=Sunyatta |date=June 10, 2022 |title=For Juneteenth, this hibiscus red drink is steeped in history |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2022/06/10/red-drink-recipe-juneteenth/ |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |access-date=November 25, 2022 |archive-date=July 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705130605/https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2022/06/10/red-drink-recipe-juneteenth/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Juneteenth celebrations often include lectures and exhibitions on African-American culture.{{sfn|Hume|Arceneaux|2008|p=156}} The modern holiday places much emphasis on teaching about African-American heritage. Karen M. Thomas wrote in ''Emerge'' that "community leaders have latched on to [Juneteenth] to help instill a sense of heritage and pride in black youth." Celebrations are commonly accompanied by [[Voter registration in the United States|voter registration efforts]], the performing of plays, and retelling stories.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Thomas |first=Karen M. |date=June 1993 |title=Texas: Juneteenth Day |magazine=[[Emerge (magazine)|Emerge]] |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=31 }}</ref> The holiday is also a celebration of [[soul food]] and other food with African-American influences. In ''Tourism Review International'', Anne Donovan and Karen DeBres write that "[[Barbecue]] is the centerpiece of most Juneteenth celebrations."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Donovan |first1=Anne |last2=DeBres |first2=Karen |date=2006 |title=Foods of Freedom: Juneteenth as a Culinary Tourist Attraction |journal=Tourism Review International |publisher=Cognizant Communication Corporation|location=Putnam Valley, New York|volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=379–389 |doi=10.3727/154427206776330562 }}</ref> Major news networks host specials and marathons on national outlets featuring prominent Black voices.<ref>{{cite web |title=How and where to celebrate Juneteenth 2023 across the U.S. this holiday weekend - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/juneteenth-2023-how-to-celebrate/ |website=www.cbsnews.com |date=June 16, 2023 |access-date=June 16, 2023 |archive-date=June 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616191412/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/juneteenth-2023-how-to-celebrate/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Black Seminoles]] of [[Múzquiz Municipality|Nacimiento]] in Mexico hold a festival and reunion, known as el Día de los Negros on June 19.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Ferguson |first=Wes |date=June 19, 2019 |title=Why This Mexican Village Celebrates Juneteenth |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/mexican-village-juneteenth-celebration/ |magazine=[[Texas Monthly]] |language=en |access-date=June 16, 2021 |archive-date=June 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618130804/https://www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/mexican-village-juneteenth-celebration/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web
|title=Black Kos, Remember the Mascogos, Afro-Indigenous-Mexican-Americans for Cinco De Mayo
|url=https://www.dailykos.com/story/2019/5/3/1848353/-Black-Kos-Remember-the-Mascogos-Afro-Indigenous-Mexican-Americans-for-Cinco-De-Mayo
|website=[[Daily Kos]]
|date=May 3, 2019
|access-date=June 16, 2021
|archive-date=June 19, 2024
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240619183537/https://www.dailykos.com/story/2019/5/3/1848353/-Black-Kos-Remember-the-Mascogos-Afro-Indigenous-Mexican-Americans-for-Cinco-De-Mayo
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref name="El Universal">{{cite web |date=September 19, 2016 |title=Mascogos. Siempre listos para partir |url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/articulo/estados/2016/09/19/mascogos-siempre-listos-para-partir |access-date=July 31, 2017 |website=El Universal |language=es |quote=Sin embargo, la fiesta de la comunidad es el 19 de junio – el Juneteenth Day en Estados Unidos – el día que los esclavos de Galveston, Texas, supieron que eran libres. |archive-date=July 31, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731071945/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/articulo/estados/2016/09/19/mascogos-siempre-listos-para-partir |url-status=live }}</ref> 
Many former British colonies celebrate [[Emancipation Day]] on August 1, commemorating the [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833]]. 
Since 2021, the United Nations has designated August 31 as the International Day for People of African Descent.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Honouring the contributions of the African diaspora | url=https://www.un.org/en/observances/african-descent-day | website=UN.org | access-date=January 8, 2024 | archive-date=April 28, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230428191043/https://www.un.org/en/observances/african-descent-day | url-status=live }}</ref>