Indiana
Indianapolis
June 21,
(Saturday) Come celebrate the sixth annual Juneteenth celebration on the Festival Park! -
8:00 PM
Juneteenth is the oldest holiday observance of freedom from slavery. In 1863 the Emancipation Proclamation was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln. This news didn't reach some of the slaves in the Southwest for two years. By then, the only news that was certain was that the proclamation had been signed some time in mid-June. That is why this celebration is called Juneteenth. The proclamation freed all slaves in rebelling states during the Civil War. The first celebration was probably in Galveston, Texas where General Gordon Granger and federal troops first brought word of the proclamation. The initial freedom celebration quickly spread through parts of the Southwest including east Texas, western Louisiana and southern Oklhoma.
This unique Aftican-Arnerican holiday will be honored with strawberry ice cream making, storytelling, balloon tossing, a watermelon eating contest, historical re-enactments, AfricanAmerican vendors, delicious food and concerts by local artists.
