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Joe Biden will attend a Juneteenth celebration at Galveston's historic Reedy Chapel AME Church, where emancipation was first announced in Texas. The visit honors the site's profound role in US history.
Joe Biden to attend Juneteenth celebration (AP Photo)
UPDATED: Jun 19, 2025 00:40 IST
Former President Joe Biden will participate in a Juneteenth commemoration at the historic Reedy Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Galveston, Texas, later this week.
As reported by the Associated Press (AP), Biden’s plans were confirmed by a source familiar with the arrangements but not authorised to discuss them publicly.
Juneteenth, celebrated annually on June 19, marks a significant moment in American history — the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston to announce the end of slavery in Texas, nearly two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.
In 2021, Biden signed bipartisan legislation establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday, the first new federal holiday since the creation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.
Thursday's ceremony will take place at the Reedy Chapel AME Church, the most historically prominent Black church in Texas. Founded in 1848, it is the oldest African Methodist Episcopal church in the state and was one of the original locations where General Order No. 3—which proclaimed the emancipation of enslaved people in Texas—was publicly read by Union General Gordon Granger.
Biden's visit to the church highlights Galveston's symbolic significance in America's path toward freedom and equality.
(With inputs from AP)
Published By:
Rivanshi Rakhrai
Published On:
Jun 19, 2025
