Juneteenth (short for "June Nineteenth") marks the day when Federal Troops arrived in Galveston, TX in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people would be freed. The troops' arrival came a full two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth honors the end to slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. One June 17, 2021, it officially became a Federal Holiday.

The City of Baytown and the Juneteenth Committee's sole mission in organizing this annual celebration is to bring awareness and education to the significance of the national holiday as well as to honor and celebrate both the past and present accomplishments of local African-American community leaders.