Minneapolis Hosts Juneteenth Celebration At Bethune Park

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A big community event for Juneteenth balanced history with a celebration Saturday afternoon.

History re-enactments and a cookout made up the Minneapolis "Freedom Day" celebration at Bethune Park. Juneteenth dates back to 1865, when Union soldiers reached Galveston, Texas to deliver the news that the Civil War had ended and that the enslaved were free.

Saturday's event's event is more than parades and food.

"Juneteenth is about the emancipation of slavery and all those good things to give people freedom they were entitled to. Important for the community, but the world," Khalid El-Amin of El-Amin's Fish House said.

Minneapolis is home to one of the oldest known celebrations commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. The Juneteenth organizers celebrated leaders in the community for their dedication to kids and neighborhood initiatives.