Join Us At The Dallas Pride Unity Juneteenth Festival On June 16th!!

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Source: Dallas Pride / Dallas Pride Juneteenth Festival

Join us at the Dallas Southern Pride Unity Festival on June 16th at the Longhorn Ballroom that’s 216 Corinth St in Dallas. They will be providing free HIV Testing, Voter Registration Drives and more. Plus, you’ll be able to see many artist perform like Tank and Trina! You can purchase a ticket now by visiting www.dallassouthernpride.com or visit one of their many Abounding Prosperity locations to receive a free test by taking an STD test.

Here’s a little history about Juneteenth:

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Going all the way back to 1865, June 19th was the day the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed in Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that all those enslaved were now free. This announcement came two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was signed and ended slavery in the United States – which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865 and the arrival of General Granger’s army, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.

There are many stories on why the news arrived so late in Texas, with the main one being of a messenger who was murdered on his way to Texas with the news of freedom. Another story is the news was deliberately withheld by the Slave Masters to maintain the labor force on the plantations. And still another, is that Federal troops actually waited for the slave owners to reap the benefits of one last cotton harvest before going to Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. Regardless, the sad part is that Texans remained enslaved until the news arrived on June 19, 1865.

For more information about this event please visit www.dallassouthernpride.com

http://thebeatdfw.com/2893209/in-a-country-plagued-by-racism-juneteenth-matters-more-than-ever/

http://thebeatdfw.com/2892975/5-things-to-know-about-juneteenth/