Loudoun Now
June 19
th, or Juneteenth, marks the day in 1865 when, just after the end of the Civil War, Union Army General Gordon Granger announced the abolition of slavery in Texas, the last Confederate state where the Emancipation Proclamation was enforced. Slavery across the U.S. would be completely abolished later that year with the 13
th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
In September 2020, after delivering to the U.S. Congress a petition with 1.54 million signatures supporting the establishment of Juneteenth as a national holiday, 93-year-old activist Opal Lee visited with Loudoun County leaders. Best known as Ms. Opal and hailing from Fort Worth, TX, she launched a walking campaign in 2016 to promote awareness of the effort to make June 19 an annual national day of observance.