LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The man who is behind the creation of Juneteenth is actually buried in Kentucky.
United States Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger is the Union leader who read the order in Galveston, Texas, that all enslaved people were free on June 19, 1865.
That was two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
He is buried in the Lexington Cemetery, which is the equivalent of Louisville's Cave Hill Cemetery.
After the war, Granger, a New York native, married Marie Letcher of Lexington. That's why he's buried in the Commonwealth.
Since it was designated a federal holiday in 2021, Juneteenth has become more universally recognized beyond Black America. Many people get the day off work or school, and there are a plethora of street festivals, fairs, concerts and other events.
Over the decades, Juneteenth has also been called Freedom Day, Emancipation Day, Black Fourth of July and second Independence Day among others.
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