The Hub Eatery Of Utica New York Hosting ‘Juneteenth’ Event For New York

The Hub Eatery of Utica New York will be hosting a Juneteenth event for 2021 open for the whole community.

The event is entirely free, taking place Saturday, June 19, 10:00AM – 2:00PM on Bleecker Street in Utica.

OPEN for the Whole COMMUNITY! FREE! Cheeseburgers Hot dogs Drinks Hamburgers EVERYTHING FREE!"

The event on Facebook is labeled as "Utica Community BBQ," and it truly is.  Along with the free food and drinks, there will be music for the day to bring the community together.

Family fun events are also there for kids, like bouncy houses and raffles throughout the event for gift cards for different stores and restaurants across Central New York. This event will be held entirely outdoors. You can read more online here.

What Is Juneteenth?

Juneteenth is a holiday celebrating the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States. The date originates in Galveston, Texas, and is now celebrated annually on June 19 throughout the United States.

It is commemorated on the anniversary date of the June 19, 1865 announcement by Union Army general Gordon Granger, proclaiming freedom from slavery in Texas."

President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation had officially outlawed slavery in Texas and the other states two and a half years earlier, but enforcement of the Proclamation relied on Union troops.

Texas being the most remote of the slave states had a low presence of Union troops as the American Civil War ended; thus enforcement there had been slow and inconsistent"

Celebrations date to 1866, became more commercialized in the 1920s and 1930s, and during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, it was eclipsed by the struggle for postwar civil rights. The date grew in popularity again in the 1970s with a focus on African American freedom and arts. You can read more on the history here.