On June 19, 1865, two months after the surrender of the Confederate Army, a Union general arrived in Galveston, Texas to inform enslaved Africans that the Civil War had ended and they were free. This announcement put into effect the Emancipation Proclamation, which had been issued more than two and a half years earlier on Jan. 1, 1863, by President Abraham Lincoln. Often called Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, Juneteenth is celebrated annually as a way for descendants to recognize the strength of their ancestral family and bring families together. In 2020, Juneteenth became a state holiday in Virginia. #Juneteenth #GrabABite #PlanATrip #CatchAVibe #VisitBLKRVA #VisitRichmondVa