Juneteenth celebration in Winchester this Saturday

Juneteenth was rec­og­nized as a fed­er­al hol­i­day on June 17, 2021. The date was first cel­e­brat­ed in 1865 when news of the free­dom of enslaved peo­ple from states in rebel­lion against the Union final­ly reached Galveston, Texas — the last state in the Confederacy offi­cial­ly notified. 

Union General Gordon Granger pro­claimed the news near­ly two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed on January 1, 1863.  It is no won­der that this date has also been known as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Black Independence Day, and Jubilee Day.

Winchester’s annu­al Juneteenth cel­e­bra­tion will be held in Heritage Park this Saturday — June 18, 2022 from 12 to 4 p.m. The park is locat­ed at 131 West Washington Street. The event is spon­sored by the Winchester Black History and Heritage Committee.

The keynote speak­er for this year’s cel­e­bra­tion is Rev. Kenny Clay, who will be speak­ing at 12:30 p.m. There will also be food ven­dors and good fel­low­ship. Bring your own lawn chair. 

Come to the park to cel­e­brate on Saturday. I have attend­ed pri­or cel­e­bra­tions and it has always been a won­der­ful day for adults and fam­i­lies! It’s also a great way to pro­mote uni­ty in our com­mu­ni­ty. I hope to see every­one there.