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Juneteenth Celebration and Parade
June 15 @ 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
FreeJuneteenth Celebration and Parade
Laurel Park, Saturday, June 15, 12-5pm
Liberation Paddleout, Saturday, June 22, 12-4pm
Join us to celebrate Santa Cruz Juneteenth at Laurel Park for a vibrant celebration of African American heritage. Enjoy live music, basketball clinics, soul food, a parade – all honoring the spirit of Freedom. This is a FREE event for the Black community and its allies. Save the date and spread the word. We look forward to seeing you there!
SC Juneteenth celebrates Black Liberation and Freedom through embracing our shared Black culture. Join us for a day of Arts from the Diaspora, delicious soul food, craft booths, kids activities, a 2nd line parade and a basketball skills contest.
Juneteenth marks the day the last group of enslaved African Americans learned that they were free on June 19, 1866. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective 1863, there was difficulty getting it implemented in places that were still under Confederate control. When some 200 Union troops came to Galveston Bay, Texas, and announced that the 250,000 enslaved blacks were liberated by executive decree. It was a jubilee. That day is known as Juneteenth and is African American Independence Day.
Juneteenth is now a federal holiday. You can learn more about America’s second Independence day here.