The Democratic Women’s Club of Walton County in conjunction with the Walton County Democratic Black Caucus, NAACP and Tivoli Historical Society will sponsor a Juneteenth Celebration on June 17 2023 at Douglass Crossroads Park in Ponce De Leon Fl. There will be a short program honoring the date beginning at 10 A.M. After the program there will be a celebration for all ages with food, music, dance as well as games and rides at the newly renovated park that is very child friendly.
The holiday’s origin story began in Galveston, Texas, which was the western-most area of the Union in 1865. People were still enslaved in Galveston though they had been, by law, free for over 2 years. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. Slaveholders in Texas had kept the information to themselves, extending the period of inhumane treatment of enslaved African Americans. The following year, in 1866, a celebration was had in Galveston Texas, the first Juneteenth observance to recognize freedom from slavery in the U.S. Congress, on June 16, 2021, passed a bill recognizing Juneteenth as a National Holiday and it was signed into law by U.S. President Joe Biden the following day. The public is invited to attend and celebrate.
Author: Sowal Editor
Visits: 2
