The celebration of Juneteenth as a federal holiday is a combination of solemn moments and all-out partying -- featuring multiple generations of music superstars -- to mark the occasion.
The biggest party went down Sunday at the Hollywood Bowl where Chaka Khan, Earth Wind & Fire, Khalid, Billy Porter and many more took the stage and got the sold-out crowd on its collective feet.
The concert event -- "Juneteenth: A Global Celebration of Freedom" -- aired live on CNN, and Chaka's performance was especially rousing, backed by The Roots, she belted out her hits "Ain't Nobody" and "I'm Every Woman" ... while EWF and Bell Biv Devoe also played crowd favorites "Groove Tonight" and "Poison."
President Biden and Vice President Harris recorded messages to address the Hollywood Bowl audience ... and called the holiday a "time to celebrate, time to educate and time to act."
Meanwhile, the activist who fought hard for years to get Juneteenth federal holiday status also marked the day.
95-year-old Opal Lee completed a 2.5 mile walk in Fort Worth -- symbolizing the 2.5 years it took for the enslaved African-Americans in Galveston, TX to get the news that President Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.
That happened on June 19, 1865 ... hence the holiday's name, Juneteenth. While it's long been unofficially recognized -- especially in the Black community -- it didn't become a federal holiday until last year.
Opal's suggestion for all Americans to recognize the holiday -- "I advocate that we celebrate from the 19th of June to the 4th of July. That would be celebrating freedom."
Sounds good to us.