Juneteenth — Freedom Day — marked in Worcester County

Juneteenth will be observed as a federal, state and municipal holiday June 20.

This is the second year Juneteenth has been recognized as a federal holiday since President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.

Worcester's Black Heritage Juneteenth Festival Committee will take part in Worcester's second annual Juneteenth Flag Raising outside Worcester City Hall at noon June 18.

Juneteenth, also called Emancipation Day or Freedom Day, officially falls on June 19 and is named for June 19, 1865, when Union Gen. Gordon Granger brought news to Galveston, Texas, that the Civil War had ended and enslaved African-Americans were now free from slavery.

Though the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued more than two and a half years earlier by President Abraham Lincoln, Granger's announcement finally marked the end of slavery, along with the ratification of the 13th Amendment that same year.

Area observances set

Locally, other observances and celebrations will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony and music and theatrical performances and more from 10 a.m. to noon June 18 at Fitchburg Abolitionist Park, 42-50 Snow St., Fitchburg. The event will mark completion of phase 2 and the start of the final phase 3 of the project.

Several years in the the making, the Fitchburg Abolitionist Park honors the city’s involvement with the Underground Railroad and abolitionist movement in the 1800s. For more information, go to abolitionistpark.org.

At Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge June 20, visitors will be encouraged to consider the historical and present-day significance of Juneteenth, engage in discussions with interpreters and special guests, and participate in activities that help broaden their understanding of history and culture.

Special to this event, OSV will be highlighting the cases of Kwaku “Quok” Walker in the law office at the Village. Walker was an enslaved man in Barre who sued for and won his freedom in June 1781, citing language from the Massachusetts Constitution that declared all men to be free and equal. This paved the way for others and Massachusetts became the first state of the union to effectively and fully abolish slavery. For more information, go to OSV.org.

Meanwhile, Worcester's Black Heritage Juneteenth Festival Committee has announced that the Juneteenth Festival will return to Institute Park in Worcester June 10, 2023.

Information on all the happenings for next year’s celebration will be available on The Black Heritage — Juneteenth Festival Facebook page.

"In anticipation of presenting an amazing Festival in 2023, we are looking for volunteers to assist with making this community event happen. If you are interested in volunteering your time, please send us a message on our Facebook Page or email info.bhfw@gmail," the announcement states.

Worcester's Juneteenth Festival had been held at Institute Park for several years before the pandemic.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Juneteenth — Freedom Day — marked in Worcester County