City to Host Annual Juneteenth Celebration at Switchyard Park

Bloomington, Ind. - The City of Bloomington will host a Juneteenth celebration on Saturday, June 17, from 2 - 7 p.m. at Switchyard Park. Juneteenth is the annual national commemoration of the ending of slavery, which Black Americans have celebrated since the late 19th century. 

The community-wide, family-friendly gathering will feature free food from BBQ Train, games, and music, with Black-owned businesses on-site offering additional products for sale. Activities will take place at the pavilion, and the Switchyard Plaza Spray Pad. Those attending may bring food, non-alcoholic beverages, chairs, and picnic blankets.  

Also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day, and Emancipation Day, Juneteenth celebrates the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States. Originating in Galveston, Texas, about two months after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, Virginia, Juneteenth commemorates Union General Gordon Granger arriving in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, to announce the freedom of enslaved Black Americans and the end of the Civil War. Granger’s announcement put into effect the Emancipation Proclamation, which Lincoln had issued two and a half years earlier in January of 1863. 

On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed into law a bill that had passed both the House and the Senate, making Juneteenth the 11th holiday recognized by the federal government.

For more information, please visit https://bton.in/Bzmol or contact City of Bloomington Safe and Civil City Director Shatoyia Moss at mosss@bloomington.in.gov.