The threat of bad weather and a slight wind Saturday couldn't keep community members from celebrating Juneteenth at Martin Luther King Jr. Park.

They were there to celebrate an event that occurred 144 years ago on June 19 in Galveston, Texas, in which the Union Army told a group of slaves they had been freed with the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation two years prior.

More than 50 people were at MLK Jr. Park listening to music, visiting booths, enjoying barbecue and playing basketball.

Attendees said attendance was down slightly this year.

The celebration began with a prayer led by the Rev. Ernest Fitzhugh of the Unity Missionary Baptist Church.

Gov. Dave Freudenthal and Mayor Rick Kaysen then read proclamations for Juneteenth.

Short and sweet, then they broke for barbecue.

Thomas Rudolph, president of the Cheyenne branch of the NAACP, said every nationality is invited to the Juneteenth celebration.

"The diversity part of this is the important part," Rudolph said. "People need to stop being scared of each other."

After several years of moving around town, Cheyenne's Juneteenth celebration settled into an annual event eight years ago at MLK Jr. Park.

"We felt like this was a better place to have it, because it's more family oriented," Rudolph said.

Continuing to celebrate Juneteenth is important, Rudolph said.

Mary Tyler, an NAACP member and longtime Cheyenne resident, said the celebration promotes peaceful coexistence in the community.

"It's not just for black people," said Tyler, who has lived in Cheyenne since 1952.

Ever since Gen. Gordon Granger declared slavery dead in Galveston on June 19, 1865, there have been celebrations spreading across the country, Tyler said.

Eventually, June 19 was shortened into the colloquial saying "Juneteenth," she said.

Throughout the 15 years there has been a Juneteenth celebration in Cheyenne, the local NAACP has been the main organizing group, but others have joined during that time, Tyler said.

"We'd like to have the community know that we'll be doing it every year," she said.
From:www.wyomingnews.com