Metro Residents Commemorate Juneteenth At Annual Festival

People who attended the 27th annual Juneteenth Music and Arts Festival said Saturday is all about liberation as they celebrate the holiday.  

Juneteenth symbolizes the day enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas were informed of their freedom in 1865, two years after Emancipation Proclamation became law. 

Families spent a day at the park barbecuing to commemorate the historic day.

“We have spent over a year and a half inside because of the pandemic and we were unable to socialize or have gatherings, so this is wonderful,” Janice Quinn said. “I like to see the atmosphere of different people of different backgrounds coming together.”

Residents were also there to support local vendors and artists like NyLainah Brewer.

Brewer said her piece shows her breaking free of all that pain while also encouraging others to put their art on paper, as well.

“After you write it down, we're giving it into the air,” Brewer said. “We're giving into the universe. We're letting go of that. We're being liberated.”

Several said celebrating Juneteenth in 2021 means that progress is being made. President Joe Biden recently made Juneteenth a federal holiday, but others believe the fight for equality will continue.

“This is just another form of how far we have come,” Harry Osborne said. “But yet, we could be a lot more further if we just really understand, believe and trust in each other.”