America’s newest national holiday today also rises as America’s most misunderstood federal holiday.

Part of that misunderstanding may come from its novelty to the masses. After all, Juneteenth has been recognized as one of our nation’s and our state’s official holidays for a relatively short time. Only four years ago, Juneteenth became officially designated a federal holiday in the United States when former President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.

Some of the misunderstanding also likely derives from its somewhat peculiar and unconventional name. The word Juneteenth is a portmanteau, the blending two or more words such as brunch — for breakfast and lunch or smog for smoke and fog.

In this case, Juneteenth combines June and nineteenth to mark the specific day in 1865 when the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation occurred in Texas, two and a half years after its initial issuance by former President Abraham Lincoln.

Still other misunderstandings may be rooted in false impressions about the holiday. For example, many Americans don’t fully comprehend its significance, including the fact that it wasn’t the day slavery ended nationally and it did not immediately usher in full equality for all African Americans. Indeed that struggle continues to this day, 160 years after the first celebration in Texas.

But perhaps one of the most pervasive misunderstandings of the holiday is that which promotes today as a red-letter day to be celebrated only by black Americans. The observances today and in coming days in the Mahoning Valley, Ohio and the nation acknowledge a pivotal moment in the history of America for all Americans. It is the date on which Union Army Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger in Galveston, Texas, issued General Order No. 3 telling the people of the westernmost former Confederate state that “all slaves are free.”

With that short pronouncement, a long and shameful history of Americans holding other Americans in bondage at long last came to a glorious end. In so doing, the freedoms and liberties enshrined in our Bill of Rights and U.S. Constitution broadened for the nation as a whole.

That’s why all of us, regardless of race, creed or color, should pause today to reflect on the significance of Juneteenth and to join in special events marking the holiday. The true spirit of Juneteenth remains one of inclusion of all people into the patchwork fabric of our growing and increasingly diverse nation.

In that vein, Juneteenth National Independence Day is similar to other observances such as St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, Martin Luther King Jr. Day or June’s Pride Month in which people of all cultures and beliefs come together as one to celebrate one significant group’s unique contributions to our multifaceted national identity.

With that in mind, we encourage maximum and diverse participation in any number of Juneteenth events today and in coming days in the region.

In many cases, those observances are being marked all week long. In Warren, for example, The Community Concerned Citizens II in Warren celebrated Juneteenth last weekend in and around Quinby Park.

In Youngstown, the city will host the Juneteenth Freedom Fireworks Display from 6 to 9:30 p.m. today at Wean Park. Fireworks will be launched from the Market Street Bridge just after dark with food trucks, vendors and children’s activities planned before the night sky is brightly and colorfully illuminated.

A highlight of Juneteenth in the Valley comes Saturday and Sunday at the fifth annual Youngstown Juneteenth Cultural Festival in Wean Park and outside of the Covelli Centre downtown. A hodgepodge of celebratory special events are planned all day each day. Among them are a soul food cookoff competition, a youth talent showcase, a rhymefest and a sprawling car show.

Regardless of how you celebrate, however, be sure to take time to understand and reflect on the underlying reason for the revelry. Like the Fourth of July two weeks from now, Juneteenth marks a landmark moment in this nation’s slow crawl toward maximum inclusion and freedom for all of its citizens and as a launching pad for expanding those freedoms and liberties further for many Juneteenths to come.