Communities across the region begin Juneteenth celebrations
Communities celebrating Juneteenth across Puget Sound
Juneteenth is recognized on June 19, and it’s considered the nation’s second Independence Day. On Friday, communities across the region began celebrating and educating the public about it.
BREMERTON, Wash. - Recognition and celebration of Juneteenth is growing across the nation and in Washington. June 19, 1865 was the day the last remaining enslaved African Americans were set free in the United States.
The national holiday is recognized on June 19. It’s considered the nation’s second Independence Day. Communities across the region began celebrating and educating the public about it.
On Friday, community members gathered in Federal Way for a ceremony and the raising of the Juneteenth flag at City Hall.
"Three years ago, City Council and I as mayor recognized Juneteenth for the first time in our city’s history," said Federal Way mayor Jim Farrell.
In Bremerton, the local NAACP chapter commemorated Juneteenth with its annual resource fair as a day of service to build community.
"Making sure they understand the importance of Juneteenth and the people that have paved the way for them to be where they are today," said Robert Harris, president of the NAACP Unit 1134 Bremerton.
In January 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all enslaved people in the rebelling states of the confederacy be set free. However, it wasn’t until after the Civil War that the last remaining 250,000 slaves in Texas were informed of their freedom. That was on June 19, 1865.
For more than 150 years, many African Americans in the U.S. have celebrated Juneteenth. For several people, however, they are just learning about the history and significance of the holiday.
"As much as we celebrate this flag today, we still have a long way to go to make sure that our communities, that our country and that our society as a whole, understands that we are not truly free until every single one of us is treated equally," said state Representative Kristine Reeves of the 30th Legislative District.
Juneteenth celebrations in Puget Sound
Besa Gordon from Converge Media stops by to talk about all of the events that will be held to help celebrate Juneteenth.
In May 2021, after calls for social justice and standing against systemic racism, Washington state made Juneteenth a legal holiday to recognize the historic day. The following month, President Joe Biden signed a bill making it a federal holiday.
"Just the history of everything that we went through for hundreds and hundreds of years. It’s important to be able to celebrate our blackness," said Harris.
It’s Black history. It’s American history. With time, it could be a day all people celebrate the second Independence Day together.
"Events like this reduce the size of our national divide," said Pastor Andre Sims of Christ the King Bible Fellowship in Federal Way. "We can do better together than we can apart."