Commemorate Juneteenth with these events around Metro Detroit

Sharea Ayers hopes that visitors who’ll celebrate Juneteenth during Juneteenth Jubilee Detroit’s Freedom Weekend will leave more educated about the federal holiday and with lots of anticipation for next year’s events.

“I want people to feel inspired and proud to be Black. That’s the biggest thing for me — making sure we cultivate a space to celebrate who we are,” said Ayers, founder and director of Juneteenth Jubilee Detroit.

“Juneteenth Jubilee Detroit is an organization of people and businesses from the community who have come together since 2019 to increase awareness, spread information about Juneteenth, and put on celebratory events. to acknowledge Juneteenth around the city of Detroit. ”

On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing enslaved people. It wasn’t until 1865 when federal troops arrived in Texas to ensure that all enslaved people were freed.

Juneteenth honors the end to slavery in the United States and is known as the longest-running African American holiday.

In 1979, Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth an official holiday. Forty-two years later on June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday.