Juneteenth Celebration
Friday, June 19, 2026
Juneteenth Celebration
Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19th each year, marks our country鈥檚 second Independence Day. Although Juneteenth has long been celebrated in the Black community, this monumental event remains largely unknown to most Americans. This year's event is being hosted in partnership with the Athens County Foundation, Athens NAACP, Mount Zion Black Cultural Center, and Athens community members.
Location: Richland Avenue Park on Dairy Lane
Date: Friday, June 19th, 2026
Time: 1-4PM
- Heritage Square Black History Tour with Mount Zion - 10AM at 50 S. Court St. (College Gate) -
- Interested in tabling?
- We're also looking for volunteers!
Thank you to the Juneteenth Planning Committee for your time and commitment.
- Cailin Johnson
- Courtney Lefebvre
- Emily Prince
- Judith Offei
- Lacey Rogers
- Miriam Intrator
- Nikki Ohms
- Russell Morrow
- Tee Ford
- Uzoma Miller
About Juneteenth
On 鈥淔reedom鈥檚 Eve,鈥 or the eve of January 1, 1863, the first Watch Night services took place. On that night, enslaved and free African Americans gathered in churches and private homes all across the country awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect. At the stroke of midnight, prayers were answered as all enslaved people in Confederate States were declared legally free. Union soldiers, many of whom were black, marched onto plantations and across cities in the south reading small copies of the Emancipation Proclamation spreading the news of freedom in Confederate States. Only through the did emancipation end slavery throughout the United States.
But not everyone in Confederate territory would immediately be free. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control. As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until much later. Freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. The army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state, were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as 鈥淛uneteenth,鈥 by the newly freed people in Texas.
Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture. (2020). . Retrieved online.
Learn more about the by visiting the website.
