We will celebrate Juneteenth this weekend in the San Francisco Bay Area. Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – which had become official January 1, 1863.
There are a number of events commemorating the this momentous event, here are a few. Hope you will go out and enjoy yourself!
Thomas R. Simpson
Artistic Director, AfroSolo Theatre Company
