JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Community leaders and performers gathered at the Jacksonville Main Library’s Hicks Auditorium Tuesday evening for an early Juneteenth celebration.
Juneteenth celebrates the day the last enslaved people in Texas were told they were free on June 19, 1865, two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
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The celebration, themed “Jubilee Day,” featured cultural performances, including the Ladies of Envy Leadership and Performing Arts Program stepping, alongside songs and speeches from city officials and community leaders.
Mayor Donna Deegan emphasized the ongoing importance of the holiday in addressing current challenges.
“Juneteenth reminds us our work is not done until every child, every family in every neighborhood in this city can thrive without fear, without barriers and without being left behind,” Deegan said.
Throughout the evening, presenters highlighted the historical significance and present-day relevance of the holiday in helping move forward.
Jacksonville City Council member Rahman Johnson delivered a message of hope and progress.
“Despite the most painful marks of history, things do get better,” Jacksonville City Council member Rahman Johnson said. “Despite the pain, America can change.”
The celebration featured diverse artistic expressions, poetry readings, musical presentations and passionate speeches.
“We pray you make this Juneteenth more than a moment,” Pastor Claude Cheatham of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, “That you make it a movement.”
Rudolph Jamison, Executive Director of the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission, emphasized the progress made over the last 160 years and said there is still work to do.
“You’re better tomorrow than you were yesterday every day,” he said.
The official Juneteenth holiday will be observed on Thursday, with city offices and facilities closed in recognition of the date.
Join us Thursday, June 19, at 7 p.m. Streaming on News4JAX.com and News4JAX+
