Politics & Government
VIDEO: Juneteenth Celebrated at Overpeck Park
Event helps to raise money for MLK monument in Teaneck.
Saturday's celebrated freedom, unity, and the history of African Americans. A host of local and county officials turned out to show their support, and speak about the importance of the event. In addition to the celebration, organizers said they were working to raise money to build a monument honoring Martin Luther King Jr. on 's campus.
“Juneteenth” originated on June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger delivered the news that the Civil War ended and slaves were now free. But the news arrived two-and-a-half years after the Jan. 1, 1863, Emancipation Proclamation, which announced the freedom of the nation’s slaves. The event is oldest national celebration marking the end of slavery in the United States.
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