Celebrated across the United States, this week and weekend will see several Juneteenth events in Humboldt County. Organizers, including Black Humboldt and the Eureka Chapter of the NAACP, are knee-deep in putting together events spread over four days in Fortuna, Arcata, Eureka and online for the fifth annual festival in Humboldt County. Juneteenth, a celebration of the end of slavery in the U.
S, is held on June 19, commemorating the moment in 1865 when Major General Gordon Granger landed at Galveston, Texas two and a half years after the emancipation proclamation and brought the news that Black Americans were free. “This is very much a day off but also a day on, to be in community to share knowledge and lived experiences and to platform Black community, history and legacy,” said Mo Harper-Desir, co-founder of Black Humboldt in an email to the Times-Standard Monday. The holiday has been celebrated since the late 1800s.
In 2021, President Joseph Biden made it a federal holiday when he signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. “My favorite memory was walking through the crowd and seeing all the faces of elation and joy. I heard laughing far and wide, children playing, businesses thriving, yummy food, multiple generations of families all in one place and knowing that we had brought community together in a beautiful and positive way!” wrote Levia Love, Black Humboldt’s wellness and Black business liason in an email to the Times-Standard, when asked ab.
