March 28, 2024

Juneteenth Celebration Set June 17

Juneteenth Celebration

The St. Mary’s County Juneteenth celebration will be at John G. Lancaster Park in Lexington Park, Maryland, on June 17, 2017. This family-friendly event includes a 5K run/walk starting at 8 am, a festival from noon to 8 pm, and vendors throughout the day.

The park is at 21550 Willows Road. For more information on the Juneteenth celebration, call 301-862-4868.

Juneteenth celebrates the anniversary of the day that slavery was ended in Texas. It was June 19, 1865, when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger and 1,800 Union troops went to Galveston, Texas, and told the citizens that the Civil War was over and all slaves were then free. The Emancipation Proclamation had been signed by President Abraham Lincoln more than two years before that day, but it had not been recognized in Texas until Granger announced it.

After he rode into Texas, Granger issued the proclamation titled General Orders, Number3, which stated that all slaves were free, giving them the absolute equality of rights and rights of property. The announcement stated that the former master/slave relationship would become that of employer and free laborer.

The announcement resulted in a day of singing, dancing, and feasting, which then led to annual celebrations across the state. More than a century passed before the date became an official state holiday in Texas on Jan. 1, 1980. It was the first emancipation celebration to be officially recognized by a state.

Since then, the Juneteenth celebration has spread across the country. People all over the US have picnics, parades, ball games, family reunions, and barbecues to celebrate together.

According to Juneteenth.com, the day is reserved for reflection, renewal, and appreciation of the African-American experience. Yet it includes all races, nationalities and ethnicities in friendship and understanding. The day celebrates freedom, self-development and respect for every culture.

For more about Lexington Park, visit the St. Mary’s County Community Development Corporation’s Leader member page.

St. Mary’s County Community Development Corporation

46940 South Shangri-La Drive, Suite 7

Lexington Park, MD 20653

301-863-7700

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