For the fourth year in a row, Henry County will gather to commemorate the end of slavery and celebrate achievements of African Americans. The Juneteenth Celebration will be from 2 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 17, and 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 18.
Saturday’s event includes community speakers, live music, face painting, and nail art for kids. Sunday will feature a Gospel Celebration with food, praise, song, and the first-ever Juneteenth Community Choir.
“Our celebration of Juneteenth has pulled in people from all over, as members of our community have been celebrated in ways they never knew possible in their hometown,” shared event organizer Mary Nicholson Tait of The Lightkeepers of Henry County.
Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, commemorates June 19, 1865. On this day, nearly two years after President Abraham Lincoln emancipated enslaved Africans in America, Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, with news of freedom. More than 250,000 African Americans embraced freedom by executive decree that day.
Lightkeepers of Henry County is focused on empathy, equity, and education. The group aims to provide human rights education and bring equity to all members of the community. For more information on The Lightkeepers of Henry County and the Juneteenth celebration, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/195087386732304.
