Juneteenth , an annual commemoration of the end of slavery following the Civil War, has been celebrated by African Americans since the late 1800s. But it wasn’t until 2021, when president Biden signed legislation that made Juneteenth , which falls on June 19th, a federal holiday. Daisy Fraizer with Ebony Vision in Fond du Lac says Juneteenth began about two months after confederate general Robert E. Lee surrendered, and a union general arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform enslaved African Americans of their freedom that the Civil War had ended. In Fond du Lac, a celebration will be held on Saturday June 17th at Buttermilk Creek Park from 11am to 5pm. Frazier says the celebration will include a cook-off that residents can enter.
