Any 12-month employee will have Friday, June 17 off to honor and celebrate Juneteenth.
“In 2022, Juneteenth falls on Sunday, June 19. Juneteenth, also known as “Independence Day” or “Freedom Day”, commemorates the June 19, 1865, announcement of the abolition of slavery and the emancipation of African American slaves.
On September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation effectively ending slavery on January 1, 1863, however, the Proclamation had little effect in the State of Texas until two and half years later. It was on June 19, 1865, that Union General Gordon Granger read federal orders in Galveston, Texas, that all previously enslaved people in Texas were free.” (PDX Pipeline, 2022).
Everyone is encouraged to invest time, energy and resources to learn more about the history of Juneteenth, as well as support local Black-owned businesses in the Portland metro area.
Below are a list of events occurring over the course of the next few weeks provided by PDX Pipeline:
- June 11: Juneteenth Celebration @ Zenger Farms | 11:30AM-3PM, Lunch, Arts & Crafts, DJs, Speakers (more info)
- June 17: City African-American Network Presents Juneteenth Celebration @ Patton Square Park | Noon-6PM, Featuring Tahirah Memory, The Norman Sylvester Band (more info)
- June 17: The Voices Project Presents Juneteenth Music & Arts Night @ Portland Covenant Church | 7PM (more info)
- June 18: Prose Before Bros Presents The FREADOM Fest Juneteenth Book Festival @ Peninsula Park | Noon-6PM (more info)
- June 18: The Voices Project Presents Juneteenth Black Business Fair @ All Saints Episcopal Church | 10AM-2PM (more info)
- June 19: Juneteenth 50th Year Anniversary Celebration | Live Music, Parade, Vendors (more info)
- June 19: Miller Family Juneteenth Free Day @ Portland Art Museum | 10AM-5PM (more info)
- June 19: Juneteenth Live Music w/ Kingsley @ Stem Wine Bar | 2-4PM (more info)
- June 19: Respond to Racism & LO for LOve Presents Juneteenth @ Millennium Plaza Park | 2-4PM, Speakers, Live Music, Poetry, DJ (more info)
Black-owned Restaurants in Portland: iloveblackfood.com/pdx-directory
Black, African American, or African Businesses in Portland: mercatuspdx.com