The Mendocino Environmental Center will hold a Juneteenth celebration Thursday at its offices in downtown Ukiah.
Juneteenth, now a federally recognized holiday, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.
The event will feature live music by the Mendocino Jazz Collective and a dinner of ribs, chicken, catfish, macaroni and cheese, and other sides with a suggested donation of $25.
According to the Mendocino Environmental Center, a local organization that promotes environmental and social justice through nonviolent direct action, the Juneteenth event is intended to be a time of “renewal, reflection, and reclaiming Juneteenth.” The celebration is the only confirmed Juneteenth event in Mendocino County marking the national holiday.
Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865, when about 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, and announced that more than 250,000 enslaved African Americans in the state were free.
Since Juneteenth was officially recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, the celebration has grown in popularity across the country. In California, cities and towns across the state host street festivals, concerts and other events.
The event, which is formally called the “Black Lives Matter Juneteenth Celebration,” begins at 4 p.m. Thursday at the Mendocino Environmental Center, 106 W. Standley St. in Ukiah. The celebration will end at 6:30 p.m.
This story originally appeared in The Mendocino Voice.