Juneteenth Celebration at the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Complex

On June 15, the Ocala Juneteenth Celebration Commission, LLC, hosted its annual Juneteenth event at Webb Field at the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreational Complex at 1501 W. Silver Springs Blvd. It included vendors, entertainment, food, speakers and more. According to history.com, Juneteenth, which is short for June Nineteenth, marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed. The troops’ arrival came a full two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth honors the end to slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. On June 17, 2021, it officially became a federal holiday.
The official holiday for 2024 was observed on June 19.