Juneteenth is being celebrated by communities across metro Phoenix this month with concerts, culural performances and events highlighting Black history and culture.
Festivals, pageants and community gatherings take place in cities across the Valley, including Scottsdale, Tempe, Avondale and Chandler.
Juneteenth is observed every June 19 and commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. The holiday originated back in 1865 when more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas learned they were free under the Emancipation Proclomation from Union Army troops. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021…