How is June 16th celebrated?
Also known as Emancipation Day, Juneteenth Independence Day, and Black Independence Day, Juneteenth celebrations began on the first anniversary of the day and quickly became annual events, but subsequent segregation laws helped keep the celebrations off public lands, pushing them into rural areas, according to words juneteenth.com. Wherever they were, the website explains, families gathered together on this day to celebrate the occasion with prayer and a barbecue. Some freed African Americans and their descendants even made a pilgrimage back to Galveston to honor the event.
Since members of the black community eventually became land owners themselves, property was donated and dedicated specifically to these holidays. One of the earliest documented land purchases in Juneteenth’s name occurred in 1872, when, according to Juneteenth.com, Rev. Jack Yates raised enough money to buy 10 acres of land in Houston, creating Emancipation Park.
Cliff Robinsonsaid the founder of the site NBC News that today Juneteenth is celebrated in most, if not all, states. Especially in the South, these holidays “traditionally include events such as picnics, rodeos, religious components such as church ceremonies, and educational and historical services for children,” Robinson said.
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