Albion Juneteenth

albion, michigan

June 17, 2023

Holland Park

JUNETEENTH IN ALBION

Juneteenth is an annual holiday that commemorates the emancipation of slaves in the United States.

President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. The good news of freedom was intentionally kept from many Black people on plantations throughout the South. Union troops traveled the country to announce the end of the Civil War and the abolition of chattel enslavement. Troops arrived in Galveston, TX on June 19, 1865.

President Joe Biden signed the legislation that made Juneteenth a federal holiday on June 18, 2021.

In Albion, the community-wide Juneteenth celebration began in the front yard of the late Mrs. Carrie Anderson. Mrs. Anderson is recognized as Albion's "Mother of Juneteenth" for teaching traditions she learned in her birth state of Texas with her family, friends, and neighbors in Michigan.

Our annual celebration takes place in Holland Park, named for Albion civil rights activist and former City Councilman Robert Holland, Sr.

PHOTO CREDIT: Michelle Mueller