Juneteenth Fest in Framingham on June 19

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FRAMINGHAM – A Juneteenth Fest is scheduled for Saturday, June 19 in Framingham.

The event will be held on the Framingham Green from 2 to 5 p.m.

In 2020, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed legislation making June 19th an official state holiday. Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of African Americans, to encourage residents to recognize the continued need to ensure freedom and equality.

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Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. 

Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. 

This was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – which had become official January 1, 1863.

The holiday, also known as Emancipation Day, is a combination of the words “June” and “nineteenth. Juneteenth continues to be highly revered in Texas and across the country, with many descendants making an annual pilgrimage back to Galveston