Peekskill NAACP Gets COVID-Creative For Juneteenth 2020

PEEKSKILL, NY — The Peekskill NAACP will celebrate Juneteenth 2020 in a way that has become very familiar this spring — virtually.

The virtual African American Freedom Day Celebration will start at 6 p.m. Friday. The webinar hosts are the Peekskill NAACP and the Juneteenth Heritage Committee.

Peekskill has celebrated Juneteenth for several years with a parade and celebration down at Riverfront Green.

This year the new coronavirus outbreak has put a temporary stop to big gatherings

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration of the ending of slavery. It is the day, June 19, 1865 when the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that all slaves were now free. (This event occurred more than two and a half years after the date of January 1, 1863 when the Emancipation Proclamation had become official.)

Juneteenth, also known as "Freedom Day" or "Emancipation Day", is a holiday created by Black people in the United States to honor, and celebrate African American ancestry, history, achievements, and struggles.

To register for the Friday webinar, go here.