Juneteenth 2021: How Cobb County Marks The End Of Slavery

COBB COUNTY, GA — As efforts to make Juneteenth a national holiday continue, people in Cobb County are having celebrations of their own. Juneteenth, held annually on June 19, celebrates the end of slavery in the United States and the date many slaves in Texas finally found out they were free.

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States, according to Juneteenth.com. It is “a day, a week, and in some areas a month marked with celebrations, guest speakers, picnics and family gatherings.” In recent years, Juneteenth “commemorates African-American freedom and emphasizes education and achievement.”

Here are a few Juneteenth celebrations going on across Cobb County:

• Cobb County and the Cobb National Association for the Advancement of Colored People are hosting two nights of Juneteenth festivities, both Friday and Saturday, at Glover Park in Marietta Square.
• Friday's event runs from 7-10 p.m. and will offer jazz, R&B and spoken word performances.
• Saturday's event is a Juneteenth cultural festival, which runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Guests can enjoy live music, more than 100 vendors, food, a health fair and free health screenings.
• The city of Acworth is holding its own Juneteenth event from 5-9 p.m. Saturday at Logan Farm Park. A free concert from 7-9 p.m. features the Total Package Band, and food and drinks will be sold by Red Top Brewhouse. Tables for up to six people can be purchased for $25 up until noon June 18.
• The city of Powder Springs is also hosting a virtual Juneteenth event Saturday from 4-6 p.m., in partnership with Unity in HIStory Outreach Foundation. The event will be livestreamed on the foundation's website at unityinhistory.org, followed by a virtual walk at 6 p.m.
• The Kennesaw Police Department is hosting a "One Community: A Celebration of Unity" event from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday at Kennesaw First Baptist Church.

Juneteenth is held on June 19 because that was the date in 1865 when Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce that the Civil War had ended and all slaves were free. Many of the slaves in Texas had not known of President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which had actually given them freedom more than two years earlier.

Granger read “General Order No. 3,” which stated, “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves,” according to the city of Galveston, which has a historical marker for its connection to the holiday.

Henry Louis Gates Jr., a Harvard University professor and African American historian, wrote in The Root magazine that Juneteenth is “an occasion for gathering lost family members, measuring progress against freedom and inculcating rising generations with the values of self-importance and racial uplift.”

Most states have Juneteenth listed as an official holiday, although it is not a national holiday. In 1980, Texas became the first state to designate Juneteenth as a holiday. In the time since, 45 other states have decided to officially recognize the day, according to The New York Times.

Juneteenth celebrations have occurred in most states, according to Juneteenth.com. A number of cities and towns held events and parades for the 150th anniversary in 2015.

Also On Patch: What Is Juneteenth? 5 Things To Know About The Holiday That Marks The End Of Slavery

More and more places, such as Anne Arundel County, Maryland, are recognizing Juneteenth as an official holiday. County offices will be closed on Friday, June 18, in observance of the Saturday holiday this year, and Annapolis will host Maryland’s first Juneteenth festival with a parade through the state capital.

"Celebrating Juneteenth as an official county holiday demonstrates our county's true commitment to freedom and equality — for all," Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman said in a statement. "The growing national push for observance of Juneteenth is an important step as we move forward toward justice for this community, in light of centuries of racism, discrimination, and inequity."

Some major American brands — Twitter, Nike and the National Football League, included — have made Juneteenth a paid company holiday.

Related: Free Juneteenth Cultural Festival Planned In Cobb County