Many of us didn’t learn about Juneteenth in school. For some of us and "other" folks, we didn’t learn about the importance of the day until 2019.
Juneteenth is a portmanteau of the words June and nineteen. The moniker refers to the date June 19, 1865, the day that enslaved Black folks in Texas learnt that slavery in the U.S. was abolished—which was two and a half years after African Americans in this country were actually emancipated!
Last year, President Joe Biden signed a bill into law that officially declared Juneteenth a national holiday. Congressional leaders from both parties said that establishing the holiday was an important gesture in recognizing those who suffered under American slavery and as an act of racial reconciliation.
Juneteenth means many things to different folks, so we’ve asked fashion industry insiders what the holiday means to them. Check out their responses below.