Local churches celebrating Juneteenth this weekend

June 19, 1865, marked the day the last slaves in America were freed after Major General Gordon Granger announced the end of the Civil War in Galveston, Texas.

June 19th is now considered ‘ Juneteenth ‘, and although Juneteenth isn’t a national holiday, all but four states in the country officially recognize the day.

There are often ‘ Juneteenth ‘ festivals and events planned around the country in honor of the day.

It wasn’t until last year that the state of Arizona officially recognized Juneteenth as a holiday, but many of the churches in the north-end of Yuma have been celebrating Juneteenth for years.

Yuma Juneteenth organizer, Mike Shelton works with six churches to help celebrate and educate the community about this day of freedom.

” We are improving our historical consciousness. We’re improving our sense of where our country has been and where it needs to go. And we’re uniting as a total community. It’ll be the most musical Juneteenth we’ve ever had. We’ll have Uproot and Dove Shack playing all manner of reggae music, ” Shelton said.

Rastaman Rob and Ras Jahge of the band Uproot, added, ” Reggae music is the history of black people and it just intertwines with the Juneteenth theme, naturally. ”

The free event will be held at Carver Park tomorrow from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

There will be food vendors, activities, and music.

Shelton welcomes the whole community to attend.