 Fifth Third Bank, National Association, today announced that in observance of Juneteenth it will close its offices at 2 p.m. local time on Friday, June 19 across its footprint, and respectfully requests that customers plan their banking center transactions accordingly. Juneteenth also known as Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day or Freedom Day is the observance of the ending of slavery in the United States. The holiday links back to June 19, 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, with the news that the Civil War had ended and the slaves were free. 