Juneteenth Kicks Off In Malden With Freedom Celebration

MALDEN, MA – Juneteenth observances in Malden kick off with the Freedom Celebration at Lincoln Common Park on Saturday, June 17 at 11 a.m.

The event will include a Juneteenth flag raising ceremony, performances by Malden High students and other local artists, interactive performances by the musical group Zili Misik, kids activities and games, and a free community lunch catered by Malden's own Soulful Cuisine and The Island.

ASL interpretation and language interpretation equipment for Chinese, Haitian Creole, Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, and Vietnamese will be available during the flag raising ceremony.

The Malden Juneteenth Committee has asked community members to bring their own chairs or blankets for seating.

The Monday, June 19, national holiday commemorates the day in 1865, more than two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, when word finally reached the last enslaved people in Texas that the Civil War had ended, and they were free.

Also known as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day and Jubilee Day, Juneteenth is the oldest-known celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. In 2021, President Joe Biden signed legislation making it a federal holiday, the first since the addition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.

• Related: What Is Juneteenth? Celebrating The End Of Slavery

Because Juneteenth is an official U.S. holiday, banks, federal offices and post offices in Malden will be closed Monday.