Overview

• President Trump’s January executive order to end federal diversity, equity, inclusion initiatives led agencies such as the Pentagon’s intelligence arm to pause Juneteenth observances
• Corporations withdrew sponsorship from major events nationwide, with the Denver Music Festival losing over a dozen backers and San Diego’s Cooper Family Foundation losing a $25,000 NEA grant
• Municipal cutbacks left some celebrations scaled back or canceled, including Colorado Springs’ location change, Indianapolis pausing its parade and West Virginia suspending public Juneteenth events
• Communities in New Hampshire, Virginia and Galveston pressed ahead with ceremonies, highlighting the holiday’s origins in General Gordon Granger’s 1865 emancipation order
• Organizers and advocates caution that funding losses and DEI rollbacks risk hollowing out Juneteenth’s dual role as both a commemoration of delayed freedom and a call for ongoing racial equity