Honoring Juneteenth on Instagram? Here Are Some Captions to Help Mark the Occasion

Though it only became a federal holiday as late as 2021, Juneteenth is an annual American holiday celebrated on June 19. The day commemorates the emancipation of Black people after years of being enslaved by white Americans throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. The name itself blends the words "June" and "nineteenth," making the term a portmanteau to mark the occasion.

Even though it wasn't a nationally-recognized holiday until just recently, people have been celebrating it for ages.

It's important to remember that while African Americans were freed from slavery in 1865, they have faced systemic oppression, racial violence, and social struggle that persists even to this day. To that end, Juneteenth is both a celebration of freedom for Black Americans and a platform for reminding the United States and the world at large that there is still a lot of work today to ensure equality for everyone.

If you're looking to celebrate on Instagram, consider some of these captions.

1. Let's celebrate the day of freedom.
2. Justice for all!
3. Happy Juneteenth!
4. Celebrate freedom.
5. #JubileeDay
6. #EmancipationDay
7. #BlackIndependenceDay
8. Happy Juneteenth Day
9. Racial justice!
10. Black History is American History
11. Black Lives Matter
12. Celebrate progress!
13. Be unapologetically Black!
14. Black Freedom
15. The end of slavery does not mean the end of progress.
16. I Am Juneteenth
17. July 4th didn't set me free. Juneteenth represents freedom for Black people.
18. Celebrate Black History
19. The Real Independence Day

"Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won, you earn it and win it in every generation." — Coretta Scott King

"You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom." — Malcolm X

"There are still many causes worth sacrificing for, so much history yet to be made." — Michelle Obama

"Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave." — Frederick Douglass

"My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together." — Desmond Tutu

"If the cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail. Because the goal of America is freedom, abused and scorned tho' we may be, our destiny is tied up with America's destiny." — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"In fighting that struggle, Black Americans would open up new vistas of democratic possibility for the entire country." — Jamelle Bouie

"Freeing yourself was one thing. Claiming ownership of that freed self was another." — Toni Morrison

“Juneteenth has never been a celebration of victory or an acceptance of the way things are. It’s a celebration of progress. It’s an affirmation that despite the most painful parts of our history, change is possible — and there is still so much work to do.” — Barack Obama

"As Black people, we are told we don't deserve our own holidays rooted in our own history. Everything is whitewashed. Juneteenth is for us. Juneteenth symbolizes the hope that my children and grandchildren will be free." — Tanesha Grant