149 years ago slaves in Texas were told by a Union general that they were free. The announcement was met with celebration is commemorated each year as Juneteenth.
Monique King, coordinator for the Manhattan Juneteenth Celebration, says the event has an important goal.
“In order to not repeat the mistakes of the past, you have to know what happened and how to do better, to prevent it from happening in the future,” King said.
King says the Juneteenth celebration is a community event.
“We want everybody, of all races, to interact with each other and realize we’re not that different. We all have our flaws; we all have quirks about us. But we bleed the same, we all like to eat, we love good music and we enjoy the outdoors,” King said.
The celebration included a parade, free ice cream, and a reading of the emancipation proclamation by the mayor.
This year was Manhattan’s 25 annual Juneteenth celebration.
