AUSTIN, TEXAS - Austin Mayor, Steve Adler shakes the hand of a parade attendee during the 2016 Central Texas Juneteenth Celebration Parade on Sat. June 18, 2016.

The parade kicked off a daylong festival and celebration. Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. From its Texas origin in 1865, June 19th is observed as the African American Emancipation Day. June 19, 1865 is the day slaves in Galveston, Texas received news that President Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier on January 1, 1863.

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Editorial Credit: Dan Herron / Herronstock Editorial.