The home of Juneteenth: Texas town that's behind the holiday

Nationally, Americans are celebrating Juneteenth for the fourth year in a row, but in Galveston, , families have been marking the date in a celebratory fashion for generations.

The date, which became a federal holiday in 2021, commemorates the official end of slavery in Galveston in 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation order the freeing of black people still held by members of the Confederacy.

Members of the Texas city's black community say the holiday has always been recognized and celebrated by black people in the area - in parks and backyards, where families and friends gathered to barbecue and tell stories.

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