The 2020 Juneteenth Oregon Celebration will take place on Saturday, June 20, 2020. The event features the Annual Clara Peoples Freedom Trail Parade followed by the Annual Juneteenth Oregon Celebration Festival that will be held at Legacy Emanuel Hospital's Lot, directly across the street from last year.
It's not too early to plan for the celebration, as organizers are once again hoping to gain the community's continuous support for 2020.
Juneteenth, also known as Juneteenth “Independence Day” or “Freedom Day”, is a holiday that commemorates the June 19, 1865 announcement of the abolition of slavery and the emancipation of African American slaves.
On September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation effectively ending slavery on January 1, 1863, however, the Proclamation had little effect in the State of Texas until two and half years later. It was on June 19, 1865, that Union General Gordon Granger read General Orders No. 3 to the people of Galveston, Texas:
“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaved are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.”
Juneteenth Oregon is actively trying to create solutions and solve problems that our community is facing in providing education, tools, and resources to help youth build resilience, gain confidence and make positive life choices. Juneteenth Oregon is a non-profit organization helping to educate, promote positive unity in the community, and provide awareness to the community as well as to the city in a whole about the significance of Juneteenth from history to all Americans today and “creating unity in community”.
New to the celebration this year is a Miss Juneteenth Oregon Program, which will host workshops, provide mentoring, and leadership development twice a month throughout the year that help program participants gain skills to manage or reduce stress, develop or improve resilience, set goals, nurture social circles, apply for college and manage finances. The program aims to help motivate, inspire, and educate, providing lessons and pulling from experiences that are not discussed in a traditional classroom setting.
Learn more by viewing the Juneteenth Oregon website or call (971) 930-5862.