Juneteenth celebrations, also known as Freedom Day, took place across New York City, marking the federal holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.
Although President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, did not learn they were free until June 19, 1865, more than two years later.
Community leaders gathered at White Plains Road and East 229th Street in the North Bronx for the sixth annual Music Over Violence Juneteenth rally, an event hosted by Council member Kevin Riley. The rally began six years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to heal an isolated community and has since grown into a cornerstone of reflection and joy…