NEWTOWN (SNN TV) – Newtown hosted a family-friendly block party Saturday morning celebrating the now-federal holiday, made so in 2021 by President Joe Biden. It took place along Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The celebration included delicious-looking food, vendors, and DJ Big Dawg of Bradenton.
Some of the food included turkey wings and yellow rice and collard greens with mac and cheese. Some of the attendees said the meaning of the holiday to them is freedom and growth.
Juneteenth celebrates June 19, 1865: President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, but the Civil War had to end before it could be enforced. Even then, some slave owners didn’t want share the news.
Slaves in Galveston, Texas finally discovered the war ended and they were free when Union Major General Gordon Granger and his troops arrived June 19, 1865. He delivered the General Order, part of which stated, “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”
In that moment, the U.S. freed all slaves.