Juneteenth Celebrations From Around The Internet

Juneteenth, or Freedom Day, celebrates the emancipation of slaves in Galveston, Texas, in 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation outlawed slavery in Texas. The date commemorates Union General Gordon Grander's arrival in Galveston to read federal orders of emancipation. Despite being a day of great importance in the black community, who has celebrated it since 1866, it was only made a state holiday in Texas in 1980 and since been recognized by 47 states and Washington, D.C. The push to make Juneteenth a federal holiday continues.

2020 has certainly raised the profile of the holiday for white America as the George Floyd protests brought the issue of systemic racism to the fore in the past month. Obviously, this has been an issue of dire importance to millions of people before that, but with the increased and forceful demand for equality, many online platforms are stepping up and amplifying the holiday louder than ever.

Here are some of the Juneteenth celebrations happening around the Internet.

Earlier this week, Google Calendar officially recognized the Juneteeth as a U.S. Holiday, and today, Google published a Google Doodle commemorating the holiday.

Social media apps like Twitter, Facebook and TikTok have all put links to their Juneteenth hashtags upfront for users.

TikTok's #Juneteenth hashtag has more than 13 million vies already. The company also posted a link to a Juneteenth resource page, linking to blkfreedom.org as well as highlighting some of their community's influencers.

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6834597177499634950

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6838619353831984390

You can also find no shortage of posts on Twitter of people celebrating Juneteenth. As well as tweets reminding people that posts are one thing, but real world action is another.

Thank you for your tweets about #Juneteenth. If you’re a politician, we’re checking your policies.If you’re a corporation, we’re checking your board and equity practices.If you’re a church, we’re checking your demonstration of Christ.Systemic change > Symbolism

— Be A King (@BerniceKing) June 19, 2020

After going viral with this clip, 12-year-old #KeedronBryant has now signed a deal with Warner Records 💥Listen to the full version of #IJustWannaLive, released today in honor of #Juneteenth , along with our interview: https://t.co/c5Wup1O4ZC pic.twitter.com/0tEYbw2KyZ

— Complex (@Complex) June 19, 2020

Additionally, many tech companies, in including Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, Uber and Lyft all announced that Juneteenth would be an employee holiday.

Both Twitter and Square are making #Juneteenth (June 19th) a company holiday in the US, forevermore. A day for celebration, education, and connection.https://t.co/xmR3fWMiRs

— jack (@jack) June 9, 2020

Celebrations also happened IRL. The United States House of Representatives also made some Juneteenth announcements by removing portraits of four Speakers of the House that served in the confederacy.

Earlier today, @SpeakerPelosi announced that in observance of #Juneteenth she has directed the Clerk of the House to remove the portraits of four previous Speakers of the House who served in the Confederacy. Here's a clip of two of those portraits being taken down. pic.twitter.com/fV6cDwrtxb

— CSPAN (@cspan) June 18, 2020