NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — This Juneteenth, communities across the nation are celebrating freedom — and Hampton Roads is no exception.
On Monday, a Juneteenth Freedom Festival was held at King Lincoln Park in Newport News. The celebration was part of a week of activities that started with the raising of the flag at city hall.
We raised the Juneteenth flag here in Newport News and now we are culminating with the freedom festival.
Ryan Gregory, Newport News Dept. of Parks and Rec.
The Champagne Band kicked off the celebration with live music and over 60 vendors were on-site to help bring awareness, commemoration and education of the Juneteenth National Independence day. That day in history was two years after the emancipation proclamation in 1863.
June 19, 1865, that was when the slaves in Galveston, Texas [were freed]. The enforcement of the freedom was done by the U.S. Colored Troops (USCT) [when they] went down to Galveston, Texas and read general order number three.
Saundra Cherry, Community Activist
On June 17, 2021 Juneteenth became a federal holiday. It was the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday was approved as a holiday in 1983.
