The City of Coral Springs will host its second annual Juneteenth Celebration on Saturday, June 18 from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the City Hall Lawn 9500 W Sample Rd.
The celebration will feature messages of hope from community leaders, dance performances by local dance groups, giveaways from local vendors, and live music. Children will enjoy inflatable activities, lawn games and arts and crafts. Specialty food and drinks from food trucks will also be available for purchase. In addition, Amazon will sponsor a lounge area for guests to mix and mingle.
The initiative to establish Juneteenth as a city holiday, and to create this annual event, was spearheaded by the city’s first black Commissioner, now Vice Mayor, Joshua Simmons.
“The deep layered meaning to the end of slavery in American history is equally as important as our independence as a nation,” Simmons said. “Celebrating Juneteenth allows us to remember that on this day thousands of enslaved men, women and children were finally free. I am proud of our city for commemorating Juneteenth again this year. It is my hope that this will serve as a reminder of our history and as a steppingstone in our work toward creating the kind of country we want for future generations.”
Juneteenth marks the liberation of thousands of enslaved men, women and children of Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865 – two and a half years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
