The George Washington Masonic National Memorial lights up the sky over Alexandria in recognition of Juneteenth, marking the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed. The troops’ arrival came two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth honors the end to slavery in the United States and officially became a federal holiday in 2021.