Juneteenth, recalling end of slavery, is marked across U.S.

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Parades, picnics and lessons in history marked Juneteenth celebrations Saturday in the U.S., a day that carried even more significance after Congress and President Joe Biden created a federal holiday to commemorate the end of slavery.

A new U.S. national holiday was “really awesome. It’s starting to recognize the African American experience,” said Detroit artist Hubert Massey, 63. “But we still have a long way to go.”

In Detroit, which is 80% Black, students from University Prep Art & Design High School dodged rain to repaint Massey’s block-long message, “Power to the People,” which was created last year on downtown Woodward Avenue.

The ‘o’ in “Power” was a red fist in memory of George Floyd and other victims of excessive force by police, Massey said.

“We did the original,” said Olivia Jones, 15, leaning on a long paint roller. “It’s important that we return and share that same energy.”

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, two months after the Confederacy had surrendered. It was about 2 1/2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in Southern states.

Biden on Thursday signed a bill creating Juneteenth National Independence Day. Since June 19 fell on a Saturday, the government observed the holiday Friday. At least nine states have designated it in law as an official paid state holiday, all but one acting after Floyd, a Black man, was killed last year in Minneapolis.

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In Galveston, the birthplace of the holiday, celebrations included the dedication of a 5,000-square-foot mural titled “Absolute Equality.” Opal Lee, 94, who was at Biden’s side when he signed the bill, returned to Fort Worth, Texas, to lead a 2.5-mile walk symbolizing the 2 1/2 years it took for slaves in Texas to find out they’d been freed.

Officials in Bristol, Rhode Island, unveiled a marker that describes the seaport’s role in the slave trade. The marker was placed at the Linden Place Museum, a mansion built by Gen. George DeWolf, who was a slave trader. The Rhode Island Slave History Medallion organization raises public awareness about the state’s role in slavery.

Meanwhile locally in Vancouver, a rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery is being held Saturday to commemorate Juneteenth.

Shamika Mitchell, one of the rally’s co-organizers, says that going to rallies and protests is only step one.

“Going to a rally, a protest, a march, is great, but that’s a small, small step in the right direction. There’s still so much more you can do,” she says.

This year is the second time Mitchell has organized the rally, and she says that she wants to continue the conversation.

“But to also celebrate that [in a] small way. We still have a lot of work to do … that is a small win for us to finally have that day recognized,” she says.

Mitchell believes a lot of work still needs to be done to combat anti-black racism in Vancouver.

“But … more people are wanting to show ally ship and wanting to educate themselves, and trying to evoke certain changes.”

– With files from The Associated Press