BUFFALO, N.Y. — African-American pride was on display Monday morning as Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown joined Juneteenth organizers to raise the Pan-African flag in honor of the city's 46th Annual Juneteenth Festival.
This year's schedule of events will take place online, Saturday and Sunday, June 19 and 20. The national theme this year is "The Continual Evolution of Juneteenth". That evolution is marked by Juneteenth being an official paid holiday for the first time this year. In Buffalo, City Hall will be closed on Friday, June 18.
“The City of Buffalo is proudly home to one of the best known Juneteenth festivals in the U.S., celebrating African-American heritage and culture through music, dance, and of course ,food,” Mayor Brown said. “While most of the events will be virtual again this year due to the pandemic, Juneteenth weekend still preserves the African American culture in our City.”
Juneteenth is the oldest known observance of the ending of slavery in the United States. The celebration began on June 19, 1865, the day Major General Gordon Granger of the Union Army rode into Galveston, Texas in final execution of the Emancipation Proclamation - two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed it. Juneteenth celebrations today commemorate that memorable day in1865 and emphasize the achievements of African Americans.