Juneteenth by the Numbers 2022

Here’s a look at Juneteenth, also called Emancipation Day, Freedom Day and Jubilee Day, by the numbers:

46,273,733 – Black or African American people (one race alone or in combination) in the United States in 2019, according to the most recent Census Bureau estimate.

500,000 – Estimated number of free African American people in the United States in 1860. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, about half were in the North and half were in the South.

901 – Days from the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, and General Orders, No. 3, notifying enslaved people of their emancipation on June 19, 1865. 159 – Years since January 1, 1863, the date President Abraham Lincoln issued the final Emancipation Proclamation, freeing those enslaved. 157 – Years since Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger (Union Army) first read the proclamation, General Orders, No. 3, in Galveston, Texas, notifying enslaved people of their emancipation, on June 19, 1865.

150 – Age of the oldest Juneteenth celebration in the world, first held in 1872 in Emancipation Park in Houston.

“Every year we must remind successive generations that this event triggered a series of events that one by one defines the challenges and responsibilities of successive generations. That’s why we need this holiday.” — Al Edwards (D-Texas), sponsor of the bill.

47 – States with laws or resolutions commemorating Juneteenth. The District of Columbia also commemorates Juneteenth.

42 – Years since January 1, 1980, when Juneteenth became a state holiday in Texas. It had been celebrated informally there since 1865.

30.2 – Percentage of the population of Texas comprising enslaved people, or “bondsmen,” in 1860.

15 – States where it was legal to enslave people before the Civil War: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

8 – Consecutive years during which Barack Obama, the nation’s first African-American president, issued a statement to mark Juneteenth: 2009-2016.