When you look back at history, it’s hard to believe that it’s been 5 decades since the first time that people in Buffalo gathered together to honor the emancipation of the slaves in America and the actual event that led to the freeing of Black slaves in Texas towards the end of the American Civil War.
While Juneteenth has been celebrated in some capacity for more than 160 years, in Western New York, the celebration started in June 1976 when members of the first Juneteenth Festival organizing committee met to plan the celebration.
People like Judson Price, Eugene Pierce, Gail Wells, Douglas Ruffin, Roosevelt Wardlaw, and others sought to create a festival for Blacks in Buffalo to understand and honor thier heritage and how that heritage related to the United States during its bicentennial year…