Large crowds celebrate Juneteenth in Colorado Springs
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)- Hundreds gathered at America the Beautiful Park in Colorado Springs on Sunday to celebrate Juneteenth. Sunday was the third and final day of the Southern Colorado Juneteenth Festival. The federal holiday, which takes place Monday, commemorates the end of slavery.
"We just want the same respect, that same love, and support that you would give for any other national holiday," Tatianna Bienaime, Miss Black Colorado said. "It does mean a lot to us, and it's very important."
With food, music, and community, crowds gather together each year at the park now, celebrating what Juneteenth symbolizes.
"(The event is) a learning of what it means, not just coming to eat, but also understanding why we can eat now (that) we're free," organizer Jennifer Smith says.
On June 19, 1865, the enslaved people in Galveston, Texas learned they were free. It happened more than two years after then-President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
"You know, we worked for two years without even knowing we were free. 1865 finally came around and now we're here," Smith said.
Even though Juneteenth has been celebrated by black communities across the country for decades, it just recently became a federal holiday in 2021.
In 2022, Colorado Governor Jared Polis named Juneteenth an official state holiday.
In Colorado Springs, the festival is in its third year.
"I'm definitely happy to see a start of something in a city that doesn't have a big minority population," Reggie Jagers, a festival attendee said. "I'm just happy to see that type of inclusion."
