By Ronni Newtown in We-Ha.com on June 13, 2022
West Hartford observed Juneteenth for the first time in 2020, and on Sunday – which is actually June 19th – the town will host its third annual celebration of the day marking the effective end of slavery in the United States.
On June 19, 1865, the last group of enslaved people in Galveston, TX were freed by the Union Army – more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring freedom for all who had been enslaved.
“We are so excited to be hosting our third Juneteenth event,” said Adrienne Billings-Smith, chair of the town’s Juneteenth Committee. “Every year the community has come out to support something so significant that many of us didn’t know about it until recent years.” Continue reading.
