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Juneteenth Celebration
21-Jun-2009
Written by: Gina Ferrara
Celebration highlights the abolition of slavery.
The days of segregation and rampant racism are largely at end, and what could be better than to have a holiday to celebrate these freedoms? “Juneteenth” is a celebration of the day, June 19, 144 years in the making, when a Civil War Union Army general in Galveston, Texas, told slaves they were finally free, happening two years after the Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln. The WyomingNews.com explains that the party was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. park and featured several speeches and a barbeque. Despite the demographics of the holiday, NAACP Chairman Thomas Rudolph stated that the invites to the celebration include all ethnicities. At the MLK park, a proclamation was made along with prayer.
HattiesburgAmerican.com states that the festival, which started in 1866, is a nationwide event. Churches and food vendors sponsor many of the activities of Juneteenth with hopes of fund-raising for themselves each consecutive year.
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