Joyful Juneteenth Parade, Picnic, Unfolds Saturday In Greenport

GREENPORT, NY — A joyful Juneteenth celebration is set to unfold in Greenport Saturday.

Organized to celebrate liberation, which took place on June 19, 1865, a Juneteenth Parade and Community Picnic will be held on Saturday, June 15, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The event begins with words from Pastor Natalie Wimberly and a blessing from the church elders at the Clinton Memorial AME Zion Church, located at 614 Third Street in Greenport.

The parade starts at the church at 11 a.m.; all are welcome. Next, a celebration and picnic follows in Mitchell Park; guests should bring their own picnics

The event, held in partnership with the church, as well as the Southold Town Anti-Bias Task Force and Coming to the Table, will include music, dance, poetry and more, organizers said.

At 2 p.m. a screening of the documentary, "Juneteenth: Freedom and Faith," followed by a discussion, takes place at the North Fork Arts Center.

And, at 5 p.m., "uplifting yoga" takes place at Mitchell Park; all are welcome to join.

In 2020, on June 19, the day that the enslaved were emancipated in 1865, two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 — then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared that state employees could take the day as a holiday. He also signed an executive order Tuesday stating that beginning in 2021, Juneteenth would be an official state holiday. This year, Juneteenth is recognized on Wednesday.

According to Juneteenth.com, Juneteenth is the "oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States."

In 1865, it was on June 19 that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, TX "with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free."

The Emancipation Proclamation, the post added, had, before that date, not been recognized by residents of Texas due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce Lincoln's mandate.