Aurora will celebrate Juneteenth Saturday, June 19, with a car parade and festival.
Presented by African American Men of Unity, Juneteenth is a combination of June and 19th. Though president Abraham Lincoln read the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, it wasn’t until June 19, 1865, when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, finally received word they’d been freed. From there, Juneteenth became the oldest national commemoration of the end of slavery.
Aurora’s Juneteenth unity car parade will line up at 2:30 p.m. on Smith Street at Phillips Park. The parade will start at 3:15 p.m..
A free festival will open at 3:30 p.m. at MLK Park, 42 S. Farnsworth Avenue in Aurora. The public is invited. Activities include food, vendors, talent contest, games, face-painting and a basketball tournament.
Call 630-606-1910 or visit aamou.org for more information.
—Al Benson