The Northeast Community Coalition will host a Juneteenth Celebration on Saturday, June 17, beginning at 10 a.m.
Juneteenth? It is the oldest known celebration marking the end of slavery in the United States. Although President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation took effect on Jan. 1, 1863, affecting all slaves in the Confederate States of America, it was not until June of 1865 that word reached Galveston Island, Texas, and U.S. General Gordon Granger read aloud General Order No. 3, announcing total emancipation of slaves, leading to a celebration.
Today Juneteenth celebrates African American freedom and achievement while encouraging continuous self-development and respect for all cultures.
Wake Forest’s celebration will begin at 10 a.m. in the Taylor Street Park with a meet-and-greet event followed by a Freedom Parade that will begin at 10:30 a.m. at Olive Branch Baptist Church and end at the Taylor Street Park.
There will be events throughout the day. These include a job fair at the Alston-Massenburg Center from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and a short program beginning at 11:45 a.m. featuring remarks by Mayor Vivian Jones, the Rev. Enoch Holloway, Eugene Adams and long-time resident Mary Evelyn Jones.
There will also be food and entertainment provided by local colleges and merchants until 3 p.m.
There was a Juneteenth celebration back in June of 2012, Tilda T. Caudle, the coordinator for this year’s event, said. “At that time we were called The East-End Community Committee. This will be first time that the Wake Forest Northeast Community Coalition will have a Juneteenth Celebration.
