The Emancipation Proclamation and Juneteenth
 

"And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free"

-From The Emancipation Proclamation, cited below

Recognition of Juneteenth began in Texas in 1865 and has increasingly permeated African American popular culture. Juneteenth is a term that comes from the fusion of the words “June” and “nineteenth,” the date that Major General Gordon Granger, of the Union Army, rode into Galveston, Texas, to announce, belatedly, the emancipation of African slaves.

-From Juneteenth, cited below

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Reconstruction Amendments and Acts

During Reconstruction, three amendments to the Constitution were made in an effort to establish equality for black Americans.

• The Thirteenth Amendment, adopted in 1865, abolishes slavery or involuntary servitude except in punishment for a crime.
• The Fourteenth Amendment, adopted in 1868, defines all people born in the United States as citizens, requires due process of law, and requires equal protection to all people.
• The Fifteenth Amendment, ratified in 1870, prevents the denial of a citizen’s vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

-From the article, "Reconstruction Amendments" at PBS' American Experience, cited below