More and more people may soon celebrate Juneteenth

More people than ever may celebrate Juneteenth this year, says historian Tyina Steptoe.

The June 19th holiday honors the emancipation of Confederate slaves. People in many states celebrate with barbecues and festivals.

The day has its origins in Galveston, Texas, where, in 1865, a Union Army general announced all slaves would be free more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Texas—then called the District of Texas—marked the western-most reaches of the Confederacy, and one of the last regions where slavery fell as the Union Army moved through the South.

Steptoe is associate professor of history, studies race, gender, and culture in the United States at the University of Arizona. She is also a native of Houston, just miles from Galveston, and has written about Houston’s transformation into one of the country’s most diverse cities.

Steptoe talks here about how Juneteenth celebrations have evolved over time, what Juneteenth means to her, and how the Black Lives Matter movement could shape the way people mark the holiday:

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