Originally celebrated by newly freed Black communities in Texas with religious services, barbecues and symbolic traditions like discarding clothing worn during enslavement, the holiday has since grown beyond Texas and the South.

It was 160 years ago that enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned they had been freed. The resulting Juneteenth holiday has only grown in the one and a half centuries since then.

Yes, Juneteenth is a state holiday in Missouri and is observed every 19th day of June. As such, all state offices are closed on that day, unless it falls on the weekend, in which case offices will be closed either the preceding Friday or following Monday.