Grass Valley, CA, June 8, 2023 – Color Me Human and community friends will be celebrating Juneteenth on Saturday, June 17th from Noon till 3:00pm in Pioneer Park in Nevada City. The annual event, a community gathering and potluck, is an opportunity to relax with old friends and make new friends. This year’s theme is “Freedom is a promise and a responsibility.” All ages are welcome.
Attendees are asked to bring a dish to share. The picnic will be held at Pioneer Park, Group Picnic Area Left by the creek, accessed via the lower parking lot off Park Avenue.
Juneteenth celebrates the day in June of 1865 when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to announce that all enslaved people were free. Although the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued by President Lincoln two and a half years earlier, slavery continued in Texas even after the civil war ended. Juneteenth celebrations began in Texas the following year and as African Americans migrated throughout the country, the celebration spread. In 2021, Juneteenth became a federal holiday.
Tracy Pepper, Executive Director of Color Me Human, says, “Juneteenth is about the journey and achievement of African Americans. We unite in recognizing black culture’s history and richness. As we celebrate freedom, we remind ourselves to be accountable for and vigilant about calling out racial and social injustice wherever we see it. We owe it to our ancestors, our children, ourselves – to Humanity”.
About Color Me Human
Led by a multi-racial, multi-cultural team, Color Me Human celebrates and supports the under-resourced communities in the second whitest county in California.