The emancipation proclamation officially ended slavery, but not all slaves were set free on January 1st, 1863. Juneteenth celebrates the day that the final slaves were truly liberated in the United States.
"We're here to tell the Juneteenth story, because you won't find it in any story book," says Marilyn Plummer, the chairperson of this years Juneteenth committee.
The story is on June 19th in 1865, two and half years after the emancipation proclamation, Union forces arrived in Texas to free those last slaves. Texas hadn't been forced to obey the emancipation proclamation yet, so what is now deemed "Juneteenth" celebrates that day that slavery in the United States truly ended.
"We call it freedom day," says Plummer. "It's our fourth of July."
Lansing and surrounding areas celebrate Juneteenth with three days of activities. The events began on Thursday at city hall where Dr. Sephira Bailey Shuttlesworth gave a keynote presentation. Her husband was an insider with Martin Luther King Jr.. On Friday there was a softball game, and the Juneteenth celebration concluded with a parade and a festival in the park.
The festival had performances, food, and community groups to interact with everyone there.
"It's really a sign of what Lansing is," says Zoe Deol, "it's just a warm, welcoming family community."
The groups there included the Ingham county sheriffs department teaching about seatbelt safety and the county clerk's office encouraging people to register to vote. There were also vendors and free medical information from Sparrow hospital.
Ultimately, the importance of the event is to keep the knowledge of Juneteenth alive.
"The message will get lost if we don't continue to do things on this weekend in June," says Elvin Caldwell.
