St. Cloud Community Leaders Discuss Meaning, Hope for Juneteenth

(KNSI) – Monday marks Minnesota’s first official Juneteenth celebration after lawmakers recognized the date as a state holiday earlier this year.

St. Cloud has celebrated Juneteenth for 26 years with various events and get togethers. KNSI News caught up with organizer Buddy King during the fun at Eastman Park, and he talked about what the day means. “It’s a celebration of freedom. Not just for American people, [but] for African American people and everybody else. And it just shows how far we have come as a community and being recognized on a state and federal level. It just really helps encourage everyone to celebrate, which is important. Which is what we all want.”

Juneteenth was made an official federal holiday in 2021.

King was at the governor’s signing of the bill in February designating it as a state holiday and explained to KNSI he hopes people get something out of it. “Unity, education, understanding each other, being able to talk to disagree, to learn more about something that you’ve never done before, taste something that you’ve never had before and meet somebody that you never knew.”

Juneteenth has been a traditional holiday in many black communities and was celebrated with barbeques and gatherings with family and friends. Since 2020, following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, the day has gained notoriety across the country.

The day was first observed in Galveston, Texas, on June 19th, 1865, nearly two months after the Civil War ended, after Union troops entered the city and announced all slaves were free under the Emancipation Proclamation.

President Abraham Lincoln signed the agreement on January 1st, 1863, abolishing slavery in the United States. The Civil War began on April 12th, 1861, and ended on April 9th, 1865.

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