The NAACP Boulder County and ECAACE (Executive Committee, African American Cultural Events BoCo) will host the annual Boulder County Juneteenth Celebration from June 17 to 19, (Camera file photo)
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Boulder County’s Juneteenth Celebration: A Weekend of Commemoration and Unity Kira Z
Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, is the newest American Federal holiday. The celebration commemorates the day when the final enslaved people in the United States were set free by Union Soldiers — more than 2 years after President Abraham Lincoln issued his 1863 Emancipation Proclamation to legally free 3.5 million enslaved people in Confederate states.
More than 150 years later, in 2020, public awareness surrounding Juneteenth spread during George Floyd protests. In June of 2021, President Biden declared Juneteenth a Federal holiday.
This weekend, Longmont will host its second annual Juneteenth celebration and for full disclosure, Shakita Yarbourough, who is organizing the Community Outdoor Juneteenth celebration to kick off Longmont’s three-days of events, is a member of the KGNU Board of Directors.
KGNU’s Michele Simpson spoke with DeAndre Taylor, Boulder County’s Juneteenth program director who says he feels honored to participate.
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