The Department of Defense (DoD) recognizes June as Pride Month, celebrating LGBTQI+ Service members who have courageously served and sacrificed in the U.S. military. The DoD is dedicated to establishing an environment that optimizes individual talents, boosts morale, and improves military effectiveness. Throughout American history, LGBTQI+ Service members have played a vital role in defending our rights and freedoms. From the founding of our Nation to the Civil War, through two World Wars, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and more recently in Afghanistan and Iraq, their dedication and sacrifice have been instrumental in shaping our country.

Juneteenth, officially known as Juneteenth National Independence Day, holds significant importance in the United States. Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery and freedom for African Americans. The holiday’s name is derived from the combination of “June” and “nineteenth,” signifying the date when Major General Gordon Granger issued the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas after the conclusion of the American Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the Nation entered the Civil War’s 3rd year.

The proclamation declared that the 3 million slaves living in the Confederate States were free. For those who were largely isolated from Union armies, life continued as if the Emancipation Proclamation did not exist. This was the case in Texas, where thousands of slaves were unaware of their declared freedom. On June 19, 1865—over 2 years after President Lincoln declared enslaved persons free—Major General Gordon Granger and Union Army troops marched into Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. They freed over 250,000 Black Americans, the last enslaved people in Texas.