As seen in the picture above, black people in the USA have been celebrating this day ever since the abolition of slavery. So the question arises why people, in for example Hong Kong, are only hearing of this holiday for the first time this year.
2020 was a memorable year, to say the least. The murder of George Floyd by Derik Chauvin, a policeman at the time, sparked global protests against the institutional racism in the United States and the violence of the policing system. These protests brought attention to many of the injustices that black people are still living with in the USA today that are remnants of slavery and imperialism. In light of this Juneteenth also gained more public exposure and was finally officially recognised as a public holiday. This is probably why more and more people are hearing about the day now.