Thousands of Seattleites celebrated Juneteenth and lifted up community at events and festivals Thursday, even as national leaders attack diversity initiatives and Black history.

A variety of events are planned across Washington for Juneteenth, the federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

It may be that trying to undo a national holiday, particularly one as publicly embraced as Juneteenth, would be a harder sell than eliminating an office tucked inside a federal agency.

Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and informed the last enslaved Black Americans that they were freed.

Juneteenth has arrived, with Americans now celebrating its fifth year as a federally recognized holiday. Given its relatively new status as a federal holiday, you may be wondering whether your local stores are operating as normal.

Each year on June 19th, the United States pauses to commemorate Juneteenth, the date in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, were finally informed of their freedom, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.