Short answers, pulled from the story.
Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived on the island of Galveston on the 19th of June 1865. His arrival marked the enforcement of freedom for enslaved people in Texas through General Order No. 3.
Freedmen in Texas organized the first annual commemorations of Jubilee Day on the 19th of June 1866. These early celebrations served as political rallies to provide voting instructions to newly freed African Americans.
Democratic State Representative Al Edwards of Houston successfully sponsored legislation to make Juneteenth a paid Texas state holiday. The bill became officially a state holiday on the 1st of January 1980.
President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act on the 17th of June 2021. This action made Juneteenth the eleventh American federal holiday and the first to obtain legal observance since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was designated in 1983.
Barbecue is the centerpiece of most Juneteenth celebrations according to Tourism Review International. Red food and drinks such as red velvet cake and strawberry soda are also traditionally served to represent resilience and joy.