Flint is preparing to take part in an annual celebration held in black communities throughout the country.

Known as Juneteenth, the holiday that recalls when enslaved people learned their freedom had been granted with President Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, will be celebrated with several events:

• 6 p.m. Saturday, June 16 – Youth Freedom School Dinner at GCCARD, 601 North Saginaw Street remembering the June 16, 1976 slaughter of child protesters in Soweto
• 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, June 18 – “Know Yourself Day” featuring family activities and events at University Park
• 4 p.m. Tuesday, June 19 – assembly for the “African American Independence Day” Parade Motorcade at New Jerusalem Church, 1035 Carpenter Road

Largely recognized in the South, Juneteenth activities have traditionally been held in a variety of forms, ranging from festivals to storytelling programs, exhibits and reenactments.

June 19 is generally acknowledged as an independence celebration in communities observing Juneteenth, because of its significance as the time when the last enslaved men, women and children learned they were free, almost two years after emancipation.

To learn more about Juneteenth  please click here.

  1976 slaughter of child protesters in Soweto, Emancipation Proclamation, GCCARD, Juneteeth, New Jerusalem Church, University Park

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