San Antonio's Junteenth Freedom Parade will take place this Saturday

On June 19, 1862, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives declared, “There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in any of the Territories of the United States now existing, or which may at any time hereafter be formed or acquired by the United States, otherwise than in punishment of crimes whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.” Exactly three years later, Major General Gordon Granger finally spread the news of freedom from slavery to African Americans residing in Texas. Bexar County declared Juneteenth a holiday in 2020.