Juneteenth Unity Event to Stand Against Racism

Juneteenth is taking on even greater meaning, as activism rises against racism and a growing list of unarmed Black Americans killed by police.

June 19th, Juneteenth, has long been recognized as a day of freedom from enslavement and liberation against racist oppression. This year even more so.

On Saturday, June 20, 2020, a Juneteenth Unity Event is being planned in New Britain’s historical Walnut Hill park.

The event is to begin at 12:00pm.

The People’s Coalition of Central Connecticut, the organization calling the event, invites people to,

Join us for a day of inspiration, arts and entertainment we observe and commemorate the emanicipation of former enslaved Africans in the Confederacy.

Organizers of the event, called to, “Celebrate Freedom,” say that,

We will conclude with with a walk around Walnut Hill Park in solidarity for all victims of police brutality and racism.

Massive protests have been ongoing nationwide, including in New Britain, in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. The killing of Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, other African Americans and, most recently, Rayshard Brooks, have sparked vigorous protests against ongoing racism in the nation.

Perhaps two thousand people marched through the streets of New Britain on Sunday, May 31st, 2020, in an historic protest for change in society and an end racist inequality and violence. Protests and activism in the city have continued since, while activists are pressing for reforms against racism and inequality.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture, says that, when the Emancipation Proclamation took effect on January 1, 1863,

not everyone in Confederate territory would immediately be free. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control. As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until much later. Freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. The army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state, were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as “Juneteenth,” by the newly freed people in Texas.