JUNETEENTHNYC
New York, NY (77WABC)-A day following US President Joe Biden’s signing of a historic bill establishing June 19th, or Juneteenth, as a national holiday, NYC will celebrate Juneteenth with an official event this evening.
NYC Mayor DeBlasio has announced the celebration will take place at 6 PM at Saint Nicholas Park on the James Baldwin Lawn in Harlem at 135th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. The Mayor said, “it’s gonna be a wonderful event and celebration,'” involving families, children marching bands, and more.
The Mayor Thursday also announced The Juneteenth Economic Justice Plan designed to build generational wealth by launching several initiatives:
- Universal NYC Baby Bonds: Expanding 529 scholarship accounts to kindergartners in every school district this upcoming school year.
- CUNY Scholarship Fund: Over 2,800 four-year CUNY scholarships for Black and low-income students.
- The Brooklyn Recovery Corps at Medgar Evers College: Over 200 students a year will gain paid internships, work experience, and career prep.
#Juneteenth may have been the end of slavery in America, but it wasn’t the end of systemic and structural racism.
We’re making bold new investments in young New Yorkers. pic.twitter.com/mlsoTHHXyj
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) June 18, 2021
Details on Juneteenth in NYC can be found on NYC’s official government website NYC.gov/juneteenth.
The Juneteenth National Independence Day Act creates a new federal holiday to commemorate June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people after the Civil War.
It’s the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created in 1983.
