Local Juneteenth events planned this weekend

SHERMAN, Texas (KXII) – A celebration of freedom and deep dive into African American history.

The holiday is less than a week away but the celebration is getting started as soon as Friday. For five years, Grayson United has put together a series of events to highlight Juneteenth. “This was brewing for a long time so it’s important to keep up the tradition as a reminder,” said Grayson United President, Erik Jackson.

This year there are three days of events starting with an education event at MLK park in Sherman called “Rights of Passage” for the youth. “Some children of the people or those who just don’t know what Juneteenth is so we come out to celebrate without the real knowledge, so we decided to teach,” Jackson said.

There will be five educators there teaching various topics of African American history, and there will be prizes for participants. Saturday there will be live entertainment, cultural awareness, food, games, a petting zoo, a car show, and a street dance. Then it’ll all wrap up on Sunday at the splash pool.

Jackson said all of this is more than just a celebration, it’s acknowledging history. “These are the important things that are pertaining to freedom for African Americans, not just partying and celebrating, but we’re here to celebrate, we’re here to pray, and we’re going to agitate and talk about what we need to do in the future,” said Jackson.

June 19th, 1865, or Freedom Day is the official day when slaves in Galveston, Texas would receive word of the Emancipation Proclamation declaring their freedom.