The Center for the Study of Race and Democracy and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin held the inaugural Juneteenth Freedom Summit on June 19, 2021. Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, when, on June 19, 1865, over two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued, federal troops informed enslaved African-Americans in Galveston, Texas, of their freedom. This online event moderated by Dr. Peniel Joseph, the CSRD's founding director, is a celebration of Juneteenth as a New Birth of American Freedom whose architects included formerly enslaved Black women and men who helped to remake conceptions of race, democracy, and citizenship. Leading voices explored why Juneteenth matters now, in this season of national political awakening around racial justice and equity, more than ever. The event featured a keynote lecture by Pulitzer Prize winner Dr. Annette Gordon-Reed on the meaning of Juneteenth and lightning round discussions on wealth, education and housing equity with distinguished local leaders.