The city of Lexington is starting their Juneteenth celebrations early. This is the third year Juneteenth has been officially recognized as a national holiday. June 19th commemorates the announcement that all the enslaved in the U.S. were legally freed.
At a press conference at the Rosenwald School in Lexington, historian Yvonne Giles says the celebration starts on Saturday at the African Cemetery No. 2.
“Learn more about why we are celebrating Juneteenth, we’ll have a reenactor of General Gordon Granger, who was the Union army officer who announced the proclamation in Texas on June the 19th. He will read the full proclamation.”
General Gordon Granger happens to be buried in the Lexington Cemetery.
Tiffany Brown is Equity and Implementation Officer in the mayor’s office. At a press conference at the Rosenwald School in Lexington, she said they will be hosting an event on June 19th talking about the Black hamlets in the city.
“We’ll have a presentation that will include speakers who have connections to the historic hamlets in Lexington and we’ll also have remarks from commissioner Chris Ford. We will also have a commemorative Juneteenth plant that will be sponsored by Greenlanding Farm.”
The first event will take place this Saturday. The 18th Annual Juneteenth Jubilee will take place from 7:30-to-8:30 p.m., June 10th at the African Cemetery No. 2. It will feature a program honoring the Black soldiers who fought for freedom during the Civil War.
** WEKU is working hard to be a leading source for public service, fact-based journalism. Monthly sustaining donors are the top source of funding for this growing nonprofit news organization. Please join others in your community who support WEKU by making your donation.
