This Thursday marks 160 years since the origin of Juneteenth. Here's what to know about the holiday and why' it's celebrated.

Originally celebrated by newly freed Black communities in Texas with religious services, barbecues and symbolic traditions like discarding clothing worn during enslavement, the holiday has since grown beyond Texas and the South.

It became a U.S. federal holiday in 2021, following the signing of a bill by former President Joe Biden. Long a regional holiday in the South, Juneteenth rose in prominence across the country following protests that swept the world in 2020 over the police killings of George Floyd,