Juneteenth Celebration

The Yuba-Sutter Juneteenth Celebration has been held annually since 1999. It is sponsored by the Black Awareness Association at Beale Air Force Base and takes place at the Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds on the Saturday closest to June 19th.

The Juneteenth Celebration commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas on June 19, 1865 - more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was supposed to have taken effect. The newly released slaves in Texas held a feast of watermelon and red soda to celebrate their freedom from chains. Ever since then, Juneteenth has traditionally been celebrated with a large pot-luck feast served as an all-day meal, usually including barbecue, baked bread, fresh fruit and vegetables, red soda, home-made ice cream, cakes, and pies. Other traditions include a public reading of the Emancipation Proclamation and of African-American authors' poetry and prose, as well as the singing of traditional slave songs such as "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "Lift Every Voice and Sing."

The Yuba-Sutter African-American Community also celebrates Juneteenth with awareness activities, cultural events, games, and food.

Links

Juneteenth entry on Wikipedia
Juneteenth.com