Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Here's some of its history, and how it came to be a national holiday. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation into law on Jan. 1, 1863, freeing all slaves in the Confederate states — on paper, at least.

Juneteenth, the nation's most recent federal holiday, is celebrated by Americans on June 19 to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States and has a history going back to the 1860s.

Syracuse's own Juneteenth celebrations date back decades, with local Black communities calling it "our Fourth of July."