Photos: Juneteenth celebrations across the U.S.

The River City Drum Corps performs in Louisville, Ky.

The day carried even more significance after President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law Thursday, officially making June 19 a federal holiday and giving national recognition to a day commemorating emancipation.

Johnnie Alston leads the Baltimore All-Stars Marching Unit down Auburn Avenue in Atlanta.  

The push to make Juneteenth a federal holiday was catalyzed last summer after a white police officer in Minneapolis murdered George Floyd, a Black man, sparking nationwide protests and conversations about how the country should address its history of racism.

Terrence Floyd, George Floyd's brother, reacts during the unveiling of a new statue of his brother to commemorate Juneteenth.

Musicians play classical music in a park during the Juneteenth celebration in New York's Harlem neighborhood.

Dance captain Shair'Mae Harris, 17, leads members from "For The Love of Dance Studio" during a parade to celebrate Juneteenth in Flint, Mich.

Briana Wilson, 22, dances on a bench as her grandmother, Jean Springer, cheers next to her during a parade in Flint, Mich. 

Musicians perform on a float in the Juneteenth parade down Auburn Avenue in downtown Atlanta. 

Waizeru Johnson holds the hand of her groom as she walks past people celebrating the Juneteenth holiday at the Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C. .

Children prepare to catch free t-shirts at the Juneteenth celebration at Memorial Park in Kingsport, Tenn.

Flint resident Tracy Palmer shows off her Juneteenth-inspired nails.

People attend a free outdoor event organized by The Broadway League during Juneteenth celebrations in New York's Times Square.

Brothers Brody and Braeden Maxey share a hug during a reenactment to celebrate Juneteenth in Galveston, Texas.

A statue of George Floyd is unveiled at Flatbush Junction in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Juneteenth.

Janna Parker of the Democratic party speaks during celebrations at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington.

Rika Anderson sits among offerings made at George Floyd Square on Juneteenth in Minneapolis.

A child watches a performance from her father's shoulders in Louisville, Ky. 

Young cheerleaders march in Galveston, Texas, the birthplace of the holiday. 

Flint resident Elizabeth James, left, curls up in the trunk of her car to get out of the rain while Braelyn Williams, 3, of Flint, center, and her friend Brooklyn Guyton, 6, of Detroit, wai for the Juneteenth parade along Saginaw Street in downtown Flint, Mich.

Dancers with Practice Until Something Happens listen to Terrence Floyd, George Floyd's brother, speak at a Juneteenth event in Brooklyn, N.Y.