This Thursday marks 160 years since the origin of Juneteenth. Here's what to know about the holiday and why' it's celebrated.

For more than 150 years, June 19 has been a day to celebrate the end of slavery in the United States. Communities across the country will mark the day in 1865 when slaves in Texas learned that they, and all other slaves in the U.S., had been granted freedom.

It became a U.S. federal holiday in 2021, following the signing of a bill by former President Joe Biden. Long a regional holiday in the South, Juneteenth rose in prominence across the country following protests that swept the world in 2020 over the police killings of George Floyd,