Jun. 13—VALDOSTA — Juneteenth has been referred to as African-Americans’ Fourth of July — the date recognized by many as the day slavery ended in the South.

June 19 is also known as Freedom Day, Emancipation Day, or National Freedom Day.

Starting Friday, celebrations begin in Valdosta and Tifton for the national holiday.

Southside McMullen Library in Valdosta has long hosted Juneteenth events held by the Southside Library Boosters. Friday, the local festivities kick off for the 32nd time with an opening program at the library, located at 527 Griffin Ave., at 6 p.m.

Saturday, June 15, a Juneteenth Festival will be held at Unity Park, at 301 E. Central Ave., from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., a statement from the library boosters said. Vendors and food trucks will be on hand, with a kids’ zone and games, door prizes, raffles, classic cars and motorcycles and live music and entertainment available.

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth’s origins go back to the end of the Civil War.

On June 19, 1865, Union Gen. Gordon Granger and 2,000 federal troops marched into Galveston, Texas, to take possession of the state and enforce the emancipation of its slaves.

“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free,” Granger announced. “This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer.”

Two and a half years earlier, President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863. The proclamation did not change anything in Texas because the Union did not have the troops to enforce it. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s April 1865 surrender and Granger’s arrival in Texas changed the status.

Juneteenth became a national holiday on June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed it into law as the U.S.’s 11th federal holiday.

Terry Richards is the senior reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times.