Communities throughout the Valley will hold Juneteenth celebrations on various days, offering opportunities to enjoy family-friendly events, many of which are free, in recognition of the day symbolizing freedom for those formerly enslaved in America.
Juneteenth is designed to commemorate the date of June 19, 1865, when Black Americans who were still enslaved in Galveston, Texas, first heard of their freedom more than two years after U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on Sept. 22, 1862.
Although news reportedly “took time to travel” after the original proclamation was declared, deeming all enslaved people free in Confederate territory, Lincoln had issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, noting as of Jan. 1, 1863, all enslaved people “in the states rebelling against the Union” were to be freed.
