Oklahoma and 12 states to celebrate Juneteenth

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- Oklahoma is one of 13 states officially celebrating Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery.<br/><br/>The first Juneteenth celebration was in Galveston, Texas, in 1865 when

Friday, June 18th 2004, 5:38 pm

By: News On 6

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- Oklahoma is one of 13 states officially celebrating Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery.

The first Juneteenth celebration was in Galveston, Texas, in 1865 when Major General Gordon Granger announced the end of the Civil War and, with it, the end of slavery.

President Lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation two and a half years earlier but it wasn't enforced in Southern states until after the war.