For five decades, a group of friends, family, and neighbors has partnered together to put on one of the largest cultural festivals in Buffalo.
Juneteenth, a holiday dedicated to the unofficial ending of slavery in the United States, has been celebrated in some capacity since 1866 in America, and it all stems from the actions of Civil War era Union Major General Gordon Granger, who freed a bunch of slaves in June 1965, a full two years after former President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
The Buffalo festival, which started in 1976, was put together by a committee of people that included folks like Judson Price, Eugene Pierce, Gail Wells, Douglas Ruffin, Roosevelt Wardlaw, and others, to honor and understand Black heritage in America…