On Friday morning, locals gathered in Triangle Park to kick off a day of Juneteenth celebrations.
The event began with a march from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. around Aggieville. Participants held up signs supporting Black Lives Matter.
Juneteenth marks the day that the last slaves were freed following the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of the Civil War. It took two years for news to reach Galveston, Texas. To some, it’s called Black Independence Day.
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“We planned this event … to educate the community on what black Americans’ independence really is,” co-organizer Jaynae Cole said previously.
While not a federally recognized holiday, campaigns to make it official have reached a new threshold as protests continue across the United States following the police-involved killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day.
Friday evening, a flashlight vigil is planned in City Park at 7 p.m. Participants are asked to wear masks and engage in social distancing.
