With flags, ceremonies, parades and pomp, celebrations across the United States marked the day the promise of freedom finally rang true for more Americans.

Juneteenth, the nation's most recent federal holiday, is celebrated by Americans on June 19 to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States and has a history going back to the 1860s.

Gary Burke looked on proudly in his Civil War-era U.S. Colored Troops uniform as Juneteenth festivities unfolded at the Tennessee State Museum. He watched as the Sankofa African Drum and Dance group performed,