KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Communities across East Tennessee are preparing to celebrate Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States and honors the resilience of generations who fought for freedom.
Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and informed more than 250,000 enslaved people they were free. The announcement came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
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Rev. Renee Kessler, president of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center and historian of African American history for the City of Knoxville, said the holiday represents a significant moment in American history.
“Juneteenth is so significant because in our country’s history, it really is the oldest date that we know of when those who were formerly enslaved actually got the news that they had been emancipated,” Kessler said…