Hundreds gathered near the White House in Washington, D.C. on Friday (June 19th) to mark "Juneteenth" and denounce racism.<br /><br />Millions of Americans commemorated the 19th June 1865 when the last US slaves were freed.<br /><br />The date's significance has grown this year amid Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the killing of unarmed black man George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25th.<br /><br />Several states already mark June 19th as an official holiday and there is a push for it to be declared a national holiday.
