Muskogee Juneteenth Celebration
Celebrates Freedom in America
Art, Music and Bar-b-que Featured
at Muskogee Juneteenth Celebration
(Muskogee, Oklahoma) - Muskogee will be celebrating America's historic legacy of freedom from enslavement during the observance of Juneteenth throughout the nation.
The Muskogee Juneteenth Celebration, sponsored by the Oklahoma Juneteenth Historical Foundation (OJHF), is scheduled to take place on Friday, the "19th of June", 2010, in
Elliot Park. Juneteenth is officially recognized as a state holiday observance in Oklahoma, joining a total of 31 states and the District of Columbia in the recognition of America's 2nd Independence Day.
Juneteenth commemorates the day when slaves in the last geographic area in America where slavery existed learned of their freedom. This took place on June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, when Union General Gordon Granger read General Order #3, announcing that "all slaves are free" by Proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln. The Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862, and issued on January 1, 1863. It took over two and a half years for the news to travel to southwest Texas. The National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign continues to work to establish Juneteenth as a national holiday observance in America.
The celebration will also feature an art exhibit by local Muskogee native visual artist Jason Terrell and music from gifted area youth groups and performers.
