Latest news with #emancipation
CBS News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Arlington to celebrate 160 years of freedom with Juneteenth festival at Levitt Pavilion
Arlington is set to host a powerful evening of celebration and reflection at the Juneteenth Celebration 2025, taking place Saturday at Levitt Pavilion in downtown Arlington. The event marks 160 years since emancipation and promises a vibrant mix of live music, cultural pride, and community unity. Headlining the night is Big Sam's Funky Nation, known for their high-energy New Orleans funk. Opening performances include Audacity, a rising all-girl band from the DFW area, and Patreece Dade-Ohakam, an Arlington native who will perform both the National Anthem and the Black National Anthem. Festivities begin at 5 p.m., with music starting at 7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, enjoy local food trucks, and browse Juneteenth-themed vendors offering art, apparel, and more. The event is hosted by Service First Initiatives, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and Levitt Pavilion Arlington, and is free and open to the public.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cowboys' Juneteenth Commemoration Sparks Disturbing Reactions
Cowboys' Juneteenth Commemoration Sparks Disturbing Reactions originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Thursday was Juneteenth. It's a sad commentary on our society that the simple sentence - even that one word - can magnify and exacerbate the fractures in America ... and even among the Dallas Cowboys fan base. Advertisement Like it or not, the United States of America is distinctly, dangerously divided. And the division - often discernable in stark black and white - trickles down and pollutes even "America's Team." A little history: The land that would eventually become the U.S. in 1776 began slavery in the early 1600s when boats arrived from Africa trading human beings for food and provisions. More than 200 years later the Civil War was fought over slavery, and on June 19, 1865 the Emancipation Proclamation officially ended the practice. To commemorate the official abolishment of slavery, the U.S. began celebrating "Juneteenth." President Joe Biden declared it a federal holiday in 2021. Advertisement But with Donald Trump now in office, America's steps toward fairness have been largely abandoned. Being "woke" to racial issues and acknowledging DEI - which literally stands for "Diversity. Equality. Inclusion" - is a bridge too far for many conservative Americans. On Thursday - June 19 - the Cowboys posted a simple message on their social media to highlight Juneteenth: "Today, we celebrate freedom. #Juneteenth is a day to reflect, educate, and commemorate." The comments to the post are as sad as they are startling. Welcome to America, 2025. Welcome to Cowboys fans, who are ignorant and/or angry about the end of slavery. Advertisement A sampling of some of the worst comments to the Cowboys on X/Twitter: @Amelia_1998_: I'm not black I'm not celebrating it @ShaneMo90317264: It's only the Democrats that's celebrate this crap @TheSpor74149303: At least we can knock out all these made-up holidays in the month of June. Pride month and Juneteenth. @Michael87337190: Quit pandering @realBobStein: Wake me up for a REAL holiday on Independence Day!! @JedRevanWolf: Really I was starting to be proud of you guys. You didn't pander for fake pride month. But then you go & pull this (bleep). Being reminded that human beings can no longer own other human beings triggered reactions like "crap", "made-up", "pandering", "(bleep)" and a public outright refusal of acknowledgement purely because of skin color. Advertisement Said commenter @Twisted_Jeff: It's crazy how many people in the comments still openly support slavery. To which @Bunkednbusted responded: So what? @Boomer_Sooner68: Watching all the ignorance here is mind-boggling. Stupid racists. The post attracted almost 250,000 views and prompted more than 100 comments. Not all of them, thankfully, were hate-fueled. Wrote @sirdavepeterson: Powerful message. Honoring Juneteenth means honoring the journey - the fight, the progress, and the future. Respect to the Cowboys for acknowledging the moment. Related: ESPN's Cam Pushes Wild Cowboys' Dak vs. Arch Prediction Related: Cowboys' Top 5 All-Time Free Agents This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
Fox News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
‘This guy': Slurring Biden takes shot at Trump, those trying to ‘erase our history' at Juneteenth church event
Former President Joe Biden slammed critics of Juneteenth as he spoke Thursday at an AME church service in Galveston Island, Texas – the city where, on June 19, 1865, Gen. Gordon Granger issued the final federal orders enforcing emancipation at a time before telephones. Biden criticized the idea that Juneteenth is not worthy of federal holiday status. He also recalled visiting the Black community in Northeast Wilmington often while growing up in Claymont – suggesting he visited the underserved neighborhood after attending early-morning Catholic Mass in Greenville, Del. He also appeared to stop himself before slamming President Donald Trump by name – mentioning "this guy" – then pausing to make the Sign of the Cross to applause from the congregants. "I used to chair the African Affairs subcommittee," Biden claimed. "I've been to the origins of where slavery started [in Africa]. And to listen to them talk about it now, how things are changing. We have to remember, our country is founded on the promise of freedom; freedom for everybody," he said. "So, the events of Juneteenth are of monumental importance to the American story," he said, calling slavery "America's original sin." Of the holiday's critics, he said, "They don't want to remember – but we all remember the moral stain. . . . " "Well, I took the view as president, we need to be honest about our history, especially if there's been any time going ever to erase our history. Not just here, but, this guy--" he added, trailing off and signing himself. "Too many people are trying to erase our history, especially in the face of ongoing efforts to erase history from our textbooks and our classrooms." He went on to implicitly criticize Trump for returning southern military bases to their former names. However, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently noted in congressional testimony that the rescission of the base renamings does not return them to the namesakes of the Confederate generals but to other U.S. military heroes with the same surname. "[D]arkness can hide much but can erase nothing," Biden said. "The Scripture tells us faith without work is dead." Biden then suggested Black Americans and other minorities are still facing roadblocks to the ballot box six decades after the Civil Rights Act. "Stop those who try to make it more difficult to vote, and help people register to vote. Let's reach out to our families, our friends, our neighbors, remind them how critical it is," Biden said. For his part, Trump said Thursday the additional federal holiday enacted by Biden is costing the U.S. "billions of dollars to keep all of these businesses closed." "Soon we'll end up having a holiday for every working day of the year." Some other leaders, like West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey, issued Juneteenth proclamations but kept state offices open on the nation's newest federal holiday. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Major supermarket called out by disgruntled customer over sloppy Juneteenth cakes
Supermarket chain Kroger has been called out by a disgruntled shopper over the underwhelming designs of its Juneteenth cakes. Juneteenth is a federal holiday that takes place on June 19 each year, marking the emancipation of slaves in the US. While pursuing some of the Juneteenth-themed cakes in her local Kroger in Atlanta, Georgia this week, one shopper was left outraged by the selection compared to the rest of the store's cakes. The woman, who identified herself as 'Blaq Monalisa' on TikTok, posted a video about the incident titled 'I am done with Krogers' to the social media platform. 'This is some bulls**t,' she snapped. 'Who the hell made this ugly a** s**t?' She then showed off some of the cakes, one of which said 'free @ last' in blue icing. The phrase 'free at last', which was immortalised by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his historic 'I Have a Dream' speech, has long symbolised the fight for freedom and equality for Black people. Popular supermarket chain Kroger has been called out by a disgruntled shopper over the underwhelming designs on its Juneteenth cakes 'Y'all decorate everything else around here cute, everything else around here cute,' she continued. 'But for Juneteenth, you wanna just throw something on a freaking cookie cake and expect someone to buy it?' The woman then said that she was going to return to the store to speak to the manager about the issue. 'I'm a be in here bright, early in the morning to talk to somebody about this, because this is unacceptable,' she said. The woman did indeed return to the store the next day to discover that all the Juneteenth desserts had been removed. 'Yo, TikTok, y'all did it,' she said, referring to her original video which has so far racked up over six million views. 'I know ain't nobody buy those cookies and they gone,' she continued. 'I still feel some type of way that they didn't replace them with better Juneteenth cakes,' she added, before pointing out that the traditional 'red, white and blue' desserts looked much better. The shopper's video drew a strong reaction online, with many agreeing that the desserts appeared to be subpar. 'Why I immediately thought the "free @ last" was for someone being released from jail,' wrote one. 'If you didn't bring up juneteenth I would've thought it was a welcome home from jail cake,' wrote another. 'Gurl! Not the last one saying "Congratulations". Like, "Congratulations, you're free!"' wrote a third. 'They DEAD WRONG!!! That 'Free at last ' & 'Free' cookie cake had to be the last two they were working on before they clocked out,' added another. Kroger responded to the controversy with a statement to 'The cakes and cookies that were featured in the video were inconsistent with our provided guidance and not of the quality we would expect to see from our stores,' a spokesperson for the store said. 'The products have been removed, and we've addressed this directly with the store teams and the customer who took the initial video.' In 2021, President Joe Biden put pen to paper at the White House to make it a federally- recognized holiday to mark the emancipation of enslaved Americans 155 years earlier. The signing of the bill into law means the day is celebrated annually as part of the government calendar. The holiday has gone through many iterations including Jubilee Day, Freedom Day, Liberation Day and Emancipation Day. It celebrates the day when Union Army General George Granger freed the last slaves in Texas on June 19, 1865, which Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee described as the moment America 'truly became the land of the free and the home of the brave'.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'An American holiday': Nashville celebrates Juneteenth with music, dance and more
Gary Burke looked on proudly in his Civil War-era U.S. Colored Troops uniform as Juneteenth festivities unfolded at the Tennessee State Museum. He watched as the Sankofa African Drum and Dance group performed, filling the Great Hall with drum beats while dancers in brightly colored outfits got the crowd clapping and moving along with them. "Juneteenth is not only an African American holiday, it's an American holiday," Burke said. "It's a chance for people from all backgrounds to celebrate emancipation for oppressed people. It's very important that we celebrate together today." Burke said he is the great-great-grandson of Peter Bailey, who was part of Company K in the 17th Regiment of the U.S. Colored Troops and a veteran of the Battle of Nashville in 1864. Burke has been dressing in full uniform for reenactments for 20 years and had plans to be part of the Juneteenth615 event at Historic Fort Negley later that night. Juneteenth commemorates the day the last group of enslaved people were freed in America. While the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, it took until June 19, 1865, for Union troops to free the last of those enslaved in Galveston, Texas. The holiday has long been celebrated in the Black community. Then-President Joe Biden declared it a federal holiday in 2021, dubbing it Juneteenth National Independence Day. More: What does Juneteenth celebrate? Meaning and origins, explained A few miles away from the Tennessee State Museum, the National Museum of African American Music opened its doors to mark the day. The public was welcomed in for the free event, which included access to the museum's galleries, live performances, interactive art projects for kids, a screening of a special documentary by the Metro Human Relations Commission and a drum circle that visitors could join. Ariel and Whitney Giles-Paul drove from Murfreesboro to attend with their 3-year-old daughter, Journey. They were excited to experience the museum for the first time and learn more about the rich history of African American music. "We just wanted Journey to experience this, too," Whitney Giles-Paul said, as a recording of the Fisk Jubilee singers performing an African spiritual played in the background. This year's Juneteenth celebration comes in a time fraught with worries over President Donald Trump's efforts to end diversity, equity and inclusion efforts nationwide. In Tennessee, lawmakers passed the "Dismantling DEI Departments Act" earlier this year. More: Trump DEI attacks have changed how companies celebrate Juneteenth Ariel Giles-Paul said she worried about Juneteenth events, including the one at the museum, being a possible target for violence amid political tension. Pro-immigration and anti-Trump rallies have sprung up in recent days around the country. "Even today, I told (my wife), 'Should we even go? What if something happens?'" she said. "But I'm of the mindset that we just have to keep going and keep persisting. We have to live our life. Plus we have a little one. We have to be good role models for her." Reach reporter Rachel Wegner via email at RAwegner@ You can also find her on Twitter or Bluesky under the handle RachelAnnWegner. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Juneteenth in Nashville: Celebrations include music, dance, history
