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Northland Gears Up for Juneteenth Celebrations

Jun 07, 2022 10:21AM ● By Content Editor
Image: Fox 21 News

By Arman Rahman - Fox 21 News - June 6, 2022 

Juneteenth is just about 2 weeks away, and the Twin Ports and the Iron Range are planning celebrations that recognize when the last slaves in America learned they were free in 1865.

President Biden made June 19th a federal holiday last year.

Events are commemorating the day across the Northland:

  • Thursday, June 16th– Mayor Emily will read a proclamation making the day a city holiday
  • Friday, June 17th @ 11:30 a.m. an Honoring Our Elders Luncheon at Duluth City Hall
  • Saturday, June 18th @ 1:00-6:00 p.m.- Superior’s Twin Ports Juneteenth Event at Barkers Island
  • Sunday, June 19th:
    • St. Mark AME Church in Duluth Gospel Brunch at the Hillside Sport Court- 4th Ave E and 8th
    • Voices for Ethnic and Multicultural Awareness on the Iron Range- 260 N. E 2nd St, Grand Rapids @ 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
    • NAACP Duluth’s Juneteenth Jubilee @ Central Hillside Community Center, 12 E. 4th St. @ 1:00 p.m.- 6:00 p.m.

Organizers say knowing that the whole country is celebrating what many African Heritage people call their independence day makes it more special this year.

“It’s not only refreshing, it gives you really a sense of place right? It helps you have a sense of place even in communities where the population is predominantly white like Duluth and on the Iron Range where we have an opportunity to come together as African Heritage people with our citizens in large mass regardless of what your color is,” said Henry Banks, Coordinator for the NAACP Duluth Annual Juneteenth Celebration.

“We’re coming together, we’re coming to eat together, we’re coming to learn,” he said.

Juneteenth is the day the nation’s last slaves in Galveston, Texas were freed in 1865, a year and a half after they were officially freed nationwide by the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.


To see the original report and read related stories, follow this link to the Fox 21 News website.

To see a statement from Cook County regarding Juneteenth, click here. 

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