A Juneteenth community celebration will be held in Rocklin, one day early, on Saturday, June 18, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon at Johnson-Springview Park. I hope to see you there.

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

Although President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 declared all slaves free, it was not until two and a half years later, on June 19, 1865, that Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas and informed slaves there that the Civil War had ended and slavery had been abolished.

Juneteenth is a day to remember the terrible toll slavery has had on Black Americans and our entire country and to recommit ourselves to the work of equality and justice. 

The work of abolitionists, educators, civil rights advocates, public officials, and everyday Americans have helped make real the ideals and principles our country’s founding fathers set out in the Declaration of Independence nearly 246 years ago.

The City Council was pleased to recognize this occasion with a special proclamation this week.