Peabody City Hall To Close In Recognition Of Juneteenth

PEABODY, MA — Peabody will hold a public ceremony next week and close City Hall and other municipal offices on June 18 in recognition of Juneteenth.

Juneteenth is on June 19 and the day that word of the Union's victory in the Civil War reached Galveston, Texas, where the final slaves were freed. Juneteenth is also known as Black Independence Day, Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Juneteenth Independence Day or Juneteenth National Freedom Day.

"Juneteenth is a day to celebrate the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States," Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt said. "It is also an opportunity for our community to become more aware of the significance of this celebration in African-American history, and to honor the great contributions of African-Americans to our city, state and our nation."

The city will hold a ceremony that includes the raising of the Juneteenth flag on Thursday at 3 p.m.

With all statewide coronavirus restrictions rescinded, the public is invited to attend.

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)