Americans mark Juneteenth with parties, events and quiet reflection on the end of slavery

Free Press staff, wire report the bloody Civil War. For generations, Black Americans have recognized Juneteenth, but it only became a federal holiday two years ago.

Americans across the country this weekend celebrated Juneteenth, marking the relatively new national holiday with cookouts, parades and other gatherings as they commemorated the end of slavery after the Civil War.

While many have treated the long holiday weekend as a reason for a party, others urged quiet reflection on America’s often violent and oppressive treatment of its Black citizens. Still others have remarked at the strangeness of celebrating a federal holiday marking the end of slavery in the nation while many Americans are trying to stop parts of that history from being taught in public schools.

In Fort Worth, Texas, the woman known as the “grandmother of Juneteenth,” Opal Lee, led her annual Walk for Freedom.

The 96-year-old former teacher and activist is largely credited for rallying others behind a campaign to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. This year, Ms. Lee became only the second Black person to have her portrait placed in the Senate chamber of the Texas Capitol.

Vice President Kamala Harris said in brief remarks on a CNN special that also featured musical guests, including Miguel and Charlie Wilson, that the holiday honors Black excellence and celebrates freedom, one of the country’s founding principles.

“America is a promise, a promise of freedom, liberty, and justice,” Vice President Harris said. “The story of Juneteenth, as we celebrate it, is the story of our ongoing fight to realize America’s promise, not for some, but for all.”

More about Juneteenth

“Is #Juneteenth the only federal holiday that some states have banned the teaching of its history and significance?’ author Michelle Duster asked on Twitter, referring to measures in Florida, Oklahoma and Alabama prohibiting an Advancement Placement African-American studies course or the teaching of certain concepts of race and racism.

The holiday commemorates June 19, 1865, when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned they had been freed — two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued during

At a Sunday Mass in Detroit, one Roman Catholic church devoted its service to urging parishioners to take a deeper look at the lessons from the holiday. “In order to have justice we must work for peace. And in order to have peace we must work for justice,” John Thorne, executive director of the Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance, said to the congregation at Gesu Catholic Church while standing before paintings of a Black Jesus and Mary.

It was important to speak about Juneteenth during the service, the Rev. Lorn Snow told a reporter.

“The struggle’s still not over with. There’s a lot of work to be done,” he said.

Meanwhile, in Richmond, numerous celebrations and events commemorated the holiday. Music, dancing, food and laughter marked the city’s second annual Juneteenth event known as “June Jubilation” on Wharf Street. Henrico County’s Division of Recreation & Parks Dorey Park celebrated Juneteenth at Dorey Park as “Emancipation Day” or “Day of Freedom” – on June 17, with live performances, a vendor fair, historical and educational exhibits, a kids’ zone and fireworks.

The event also featured food trucks and performances by community groups, local drumlines, Akoma De Gado, Desirée Roots, Bak N Da Day, and a concert by Mighty Joshua.

Other Juneteenth weekend events included the opening of The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ “Benjamin Wigfall and Communications Village” and “Whitfield Lovell: Passages.”

The exhibition, which opened June 17 and continues until Sept. 19, celebrates Mr. Wigfall, who was from Richmond’s Church Hill neighborhood, and his life’s work as a barrier-breaking abstract artist, educator and mentor to future artists, and Whitfield Lovell, whose work contemplates the ordinary lives and extraordinary journeys of the anonymous African-American individuals Mr. Lovell depicts, while raising universal questions about identity, memory and America’s collective heritage.

Mr. Lovell further pushes the boundaries of the visitor experience when he incorporates his assemblage works into immersive installations, according to a VMFA news release. Two such works, “Deep River” (2013) and “Visitation: The Richmond Project” (2001), begin and end the exhibitions.

While Juneteenth may have ended for some, Chesterfield County continues its recognition on June 24 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Perkinson Center For The Arts and Education as it partners with the Richmond Night Market to host its first Pop-Up Market in Chesterfield.

Several of the vendors will be Black-owned businesses, along with food trucks and a DJ. Chesterfield County also notes its historic connection to Juneteenth in Episode 50 of the “Chesterfield Behind The Mic,” podcast in which historian John Pagano of Henricus Historical Park explains how Black Union soldiers stationed locally were part of the forces that arrived in Galveston on June 19, 1865, as word finally came about the abolition of slavery throughout the former United States of the Confederacy. Listen at: https://www. chesterfield.gov/5483/Chesterfield-Behind-the-Mic-Podcast Also on June 24, The 3rd Annual Caribbean American Heritage Festival comes to Henrico’s Dorey Park and Recreation Center from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The free event includes a performance from Local Image Band, Caribbean food vendors and children’s activities. Eventbrite.com