Murfreesboro will observe the federal Juneteenth holiday celebrating the emancipation of enslaved persons in the United States with three events this week.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Juneteenth, a holiday celebrating the emancipation of enslaved persons in the United States, will be observed in Murfreesboro with three events this year: Authors Night on June 16, Kaleidoscope on June 17, and the Juneteenth celebration on June 18. All three events will take place at Bradley Academy Museum and Cultural Center and are free to attend.
Vonchelle Stembridge with Murfreesboro Parks and Rec highlighted some of the early history at Bradley .
Murfreesboro will be extending its usual Juneteenth celebration into a three-day event this year.
Juneteenth refers to June 19, 1865, when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger informed the people of Galveston, Texas, that President Abraham Lincoln had freed enslaved people in rebel states two and a half years earlier through the Emancipation Proclamation.
Although Lincoln proclaimed the emancipation of enslaved people, effective Jan. 1, 1863, slave owners were responsible for telling the enslaved they were free. Some ignored the order until Union troops arrived to enforce it, according to Cliff Robinson, founder of Juneteenth.com. Texas was the last Confederate state to have the proclamation announced.