Sandoval News

The City of Rio Rancho will host its Juneteenth Freedom Day celebration on Saturday, June 22, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Haynes Park. This event is free and open to the public, featuring food trucks, various activities, health screenings, and music. Additionally, vendor booths and community services booths will be available for attendees to purchase goods and receive information about healthcare and other community/social services.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger issued General’s Orders Number 3 in Galveston, Texas to ensure that all enslaved people would be freed. Despite the Emancipation Proclamation being signed two and a half years earlier, Black people were still being held as slaves in Texas. Following the Civil War, the Union Army was sent to ensure that all people in every state would be free. Communities throughout the United States have continued to celebrate Juneteenth. Texas became the first state to name Juneteenth as an official holiday in 1979, and on June 17, 2021, Juneteenth National Independence Day was made a federal holiday.