Juneteenth's historical significance and impact on Tulsa

By: Isabel Flores

TULSA, Okla — Juneteenth marks a very special weekend for Tulsans and their families.

Several city offices and government run spaces have shut down for the day to honor the holiday.

WATCH: Juneteenth's historical significance and impact on Tulsa:

Juneteenth's historical significance and impact on Tulsa

But what does it represent?

Juneteenth commemorates the date of June 19, 1865.

Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was issues in 1863, it wasn’t enforced in Confederate-controlled counties until 1865, when Union troops arrived.

Juneteenth commemorates the day slaves in Galvelston, Texas were officially informed of their freedom.

That’s why it’s also known as “Freedom Day” or “Emancipation Day”.

People like Wanda Armstrong have been celebrating since they were little.

Armstrong is the creator behind Wanda J’s, now Wanda J’s Next Generation Restaurant.

She tells me while she grew up celebrating the holiday, she didn’t know what Juneteenth stood for until she was older.

“We just celebrate it, because it's a part of our heritage, and we just celebrate Juneteenth being a day of deliberation for us," she said. “It's gotten bigger. It's gotten bigger and more important, and people know about it, more people know about it, and younger people know about it, so that's really changed right there.”