Many Black Coloradans say they didn’t celebrate Juneteenth until they moved to Colorado

Juneteenth Music Festival. Photo: Juneteenth Music Festival

What to the slave is the Fourth of July?

Frederick Douglass first asked this question that many Black Americans continue to ponder.

Juneteenth is a play on the date of Jun. 19, 1865. This date marks the day when Black Union troops made their way to Galveston, Texas, and announced that all enslaved African Americans were free.

Although the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on Jan. 1, 1863, news of freedom slowly made its way to Texas and most western rebelling states.

On this episode of Black Talk, host Michele Simpson talks with eight Black Coloradans about their Juneteenth stories. We hear where her guests first learned about Juneteenth and how they have celebrated what some refer to as Freedom Day and plan to commemorate it in 2024.

 

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    06_13_2024JuneteenthI Greta Kerkhoff

The 8 Storytellers:

This story was produced by Jackie Sedley.

 

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Greta Kerkhoff

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