Friday, June 19, is Juneteenth, commemorating the official ending of slavery in the United States. Texas was the farthest West  the states in the United States. It wasn’t until June 19, 1865, that word of the passing of the 13th Amendment, freeing all slaves, reached Texas, and the slaves there were made free.
    
This celebration began the following year and has spread throughout the nation ever since. In 2019, it was declared a federal holiday.
    
As a nation we have made great progress in healing the wounds of slavery and racial division. We still have a long way to go.