This year marks the third year Juneteenth is celebrated as a federal holiday, but it has been commemorated for 150 years.
Americans across the country are coming together to celebrate Juneteenth, a combination of the words June and nineteenth.
This date holds a significant meaning. The federal holiday commemorates the day in 1865 when the last known slaves learned they were free.
The information arrived in Texas two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
Millions are celebrating with parties, cookouts, and festivals.
On the Central Coast, there were many local events that took place over the weekend in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties.
In Paso Robles, the community was invited to attend the third annual city-wide Juneteenth Jubilee on Saturday.
“It makes all the hard work that we go through, seeing all these people and the happy faces and everybody getting along from all colors, shapes, sizes," said Juanetta Perkins, Paso Robles Event organizer.
Some also use the day as an opportunity to reflect on slavery and highlight issues still facing black Americans.
A special Juneteenth exhibit was also put together by the NAACP local chapter and a Cal Poly professor at the San Luis Obispo County History Center.
