The June 19th celebration is the oldest national commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.
It was on this day in 1865, the Union soldiers, arrived in Galveston, Texas with news that the war and slavery had ended, two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
Many white Americans have just recently learned about the day as anti police brutality and anti racism protests highlight the significance of the celebration.
Today's Google Doodle is honouring Juneteenth.
The animation on the search engine's homepage shows important chapters in American history, such as African Americans becoming landowners and getting the right to vote.
The musical doodle is accompanied by a reading of the poem "Lift Every Voice and Sing," by poet James Weldon Johnson, read by actor LeVar Burton.