The holiday to mark the end of slavery in the U.S. goes back to an order issued on June 19, 1865, as Union troops arrived in Galveston at the end of the Civil War. General Order No. 3 declared that all enslaved people in the state were free and had “absolute equality.”

With flags, ceremonies, parades and pomp, celebrations across the United States marked the day the promise of freedom finally rang true for more Americans.

Commemorating the 160th anniversary of Juneteenth Day, celebrants gather along South Park Street and at Penn Park for a parade and family activities marking the defining moment in American history