Thursday, June 19, 2025 we celebrate the Juneteenth holiday. It is widely considered the longest running African American holiday and is hailed by some as America’s “second Independence Day.” At a time when the shameful attempt at whitewashing the history of this country ascribed to underrepresented groups as protagonists is under open attack, I am compelled to offer up a brief history lesson.
Wikipedia describes Juneteenth as “a federal holiday in the United States. It is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States. The holiday’s name, first used in the 1890s, is a portmanteau of the words “June” and “nineteenth”, referring to June 19, 1865, the day when Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War.[8][9] In the Civil War period, slavery came to an end in various areas of the United States at different times. Many enslaved Southerners escaped, demanded wages, stopped work, or took up arms against the Confederacy of slave states. In January 1865, Congress finally proposed the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution for national abolition of slavery. By June 1865, almost all enslaved were freed by the victorious Union Army, or abolition laws in some of the remaining U.S. states. When the national abolition amendment was ratified in December, the remaining enslaved in Delaware and in Kentucky were freed.
Early celebrations date back to 1866, at first involving church-centered community gatherings in Texas. They spread across the South among newly freed African American slaves and their descendants and became more commercialized in the 1920s and 1930s, often centering on a food festival. Participants in the Great Migration brought these celebrations to the rest of the country. During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, these celebrations were eclipsed by the nonviolent determination to achieve civil rights, but grew in popularity again in the 1970s with a focus on African-American freedom and African-American arts. Beginning with Texas by proclamation in 1938, and by legislation in 1979, every U.S. state and the District of Columbia has formally recognized the holiday in some way.
Juneteenth is also celebrated by the Mascogos, descendants of Black Seminoles who escaped from slavery in 1852 and settled in Coahuila, Mexico.[10]
The day was recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, when the 117th U.S. Congress enacted and President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. Juneteenth became the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was adopted in 1983.[11] “
The Urban League of Greater Cleveland and the Akron Urban League both host Juneteenth events in Northeast Ohio. The Urban League of Greater Cleveland held their Juneteenth in Downtown Cleveland on June 14th, while The Akron Urban League will be hosting their Juneteenth celebration at the John S. Knight Center in Akron on June 19th from 1-7 p.m.
Akron Urban League Juneteenth Celebration:
John S. Knight Center (Akron): On June 19th, from 1pm to 7pm, they will be hosting a Juneteenth celebration with live music, workshops, a Kid Zone, small business vendors, and more.
Cleveland.com created this guide to celebrations across Northeast Ohio, many taking place on the 19th:
- African American Cultural Garden’s Juneteenth: A Celebration of Freedom, 10 am – 4 pm on June 19th. Martin Luther King Drive Location. Featuring a screening of film documentary “The Journey: A Place to Call Our Own!”
- Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument’s Juneteenth Celebration, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 19th. The program is dedicated to the origins of Juneteenth, including readings of General Order No. 3 and dialogue about its meaning.
- South Euclid’s Juneteenth Freedom Day Celebration, from 4 to 7 p.m. on June 19th at the Beachwood High School football stadium (25100 Fairmount Blvd.)The Juneteenth Community Celebration features a wide variety of free family activities, including a movie truck showing “Piece by Piece,” a DJ, a photo booth, games and more than 60 vendors showcasing their goods.
- Juneteenth in University Heights, 1:30 – 8:30 pm on June 21st at Walter Stinson Community Park. The family-friendly educational and entertaining event features two stages with live music, dance and spoken word performances.
- Mx. Juneteenth: A Black & Queer Liberation Celebration at Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, 11 am – 4 pm on June 21 at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
There are many other events taking place as well. Remember my friends, Black History is American History!
Cheers,
LP