MIAMI (June 19, 2020) - FIU Athletics is proud to celebrate Juneteenth on Friday, June 19, in observance of the end of slavery in the United States.

Juneteenth commemorates the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers landed in Galveston, Texas and proclaimed that slavery in the United States had ended and the Civil War was over. 

The events in Galveston were two and a half years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation didn't have much impact on the Texans due to the low number of Union troops stationed in the state to enforce the new Executive Order. With Confederate General Lee's surrender in April of 1865 and the arrival of Union General Granger's regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and enforce the slave's freedom. 

Although there is no formal federal recognition, the observance of Juneteenth lives on through rich traditions, festivities, and storytelling.  FIU Athletics is proud to lend our voice in celebration of this liberating moment in our history.