CINCINNATI — Wednesday marks Juneteenth, the historic day when the last slaves found out they were free. It’s now being celebrated not only as a national holiday, but at the National Underground Freedom Center in Cincinnati.
For the past month, Khisha Asubuhi has been busy.
“We’ve been busy with pride and Juneteenth, so June is a crazy month for us,” said Asubuhi.
She makes and sells custom T-shirts in Cincinnati but she said this time, it’s different. It’s historic.
“It’s very important that some of the business owners look like me on a day like Juneteenth,” Asubuhi.
Her shop is one of about a dozen set up outside of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in downtown Cincinnati.
It’s all a part of its Juneteenth jubilee. It’s a holiday celebration of the day slaves found out they were free.
“This is American history and it’s a little known part of American history, has been a little known for a long time,” said National Underground Railroad Freedom Center President Woody Keown.
That’s why Keown said this year, they’re going all out.
They’re holding Juneteenth educational programs inside, and for the first time expanding the celebration outside where you’ll find food, music and vendors that he says will help with inclusion and equity.
“This allows us to basically be able to open it up to a lot more people, make it all very inclusive. and we were able to get some funding to help us to do that. and so that makes a big difference,” said Keown.
He says they’re expecting a crowd of about 2,000 people to come — that’s more than six times the amount of people than before who are learning and celebrating a past, that’s made way for future success.
“It means alot,” said Asubuhi.
The Jubilee ended with a march across Cincinnati’s Robling to symbolize how some got to freedom and to mark the Juneteenth holiday.
The center’s president says they’re already working on funding to make an even bigger Juneteenth celebration next year.
