Juneteenth celebration in Fort Myers: What to know – The News-Press

The Lee County Black History Society is hosting “Juneteenth Honoring our Ancestory” that will feature music with a DJ and bands, a kids zone, love performances, vendors and more.
Here is what to know:
WHEN: Saturday, June 21
TIME: 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
WHERE: Dr. Ann Murphy-Knight S.T.A.R.S.Complex
WEBSITE: (More information) Juneteenth – The Lee County Black History Society
WHO TO CALL: For more information contact the Lee County Black History Society at 239-332-8778.
NOTE: Traditionally, Juneteenth celebrations have been held at Roberto Clemente Park, but with the improvements being made at the park, now Juneteenth has found a temporary home at the STARS Complex, 2980 Edison Ave. in Fort Myers.
President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved people in the Confederate States of America as of Jan. 1, 1863.
But it was largely ignored since it couldn’t be enforced unless the United States won the Civil War, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Southern and border states continued enslaving people, and many Black people in the South fought to free themselves and others and escape to free states, risking retaliation and death.
Finally, on June 19, 1865, more than two months after Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia and nearly 2½ years after the Emancipation Proclamation, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived at the last remaining bastion of slavery in Galveston Bay, Texas, with a message for the more than a quarter of a million enslaved Black people there.
“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free,” Granger announced.
The first Juneteenth was held in Galveston the next year. Celebrations were low-key affairs, often kept to church gatherings and community events. Despite gaining their freedom, the lot of Black Americans was not dramatically improved for decades as they battled discrimination, lack of resources, Jim Crow laws, lynchings and more.
It wasn’t until the civil rights marches of the 60s and 70s that Juneteenth became a larger celebration, and it gained more prominence in 2020 with the police murder of George Floyd and the rising public awareness of police brutality.
Every U.S. state has recognized Juneteenth as a holiday or observance, and “at least 28 states and the District of Columbia have designated Juneteenth as a permanent paid and/or legal holiday” at least once, according to the Congressional Research Service.
In 1980, Texas was the first state to officially observe it, but Florida was the second, well before the rest of the country.
Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles signed the Juneteenth Observance Bill into law in May 1991, calling on “public officials, schools, private organizations, and all citizens to honor the historic significance” of June 19.
However, while some local governments have declared Juneteenth a recognized holiday and closed offices, the state of Florida, along with states like California, Hawaii, Pennsylvania and more than two dozen others, does not officially recognize the holiday and doesn’t include the date on official state calendars as a paid holiday.
Instead, like in many other states, Florida officials celebrate the day slavery ended inside its borders.
Union Gen. Edward M. McCook announced the Emancipation Proclamation in Tallahassee on May 20, 1865, a little less than a month before the Galveston announcement.
May 20 is honored in many Florida cities and counties as Emancipation Day (although it isn’t a paid holiday, either, and, unlike Juneteenth, is not listed in Florida statutes).
“In Tallahassee and the surrounding area, Emancipation Day has been celebrated on the 20th of May for 160 years,” Secretary of State Cord Byrd said in May. “Keeping this tradition alive brings communities together in the spirit of history and freedom.”
Tampa celebrates an even earlier date.
On May 6, 1864, federal forces — including some Black soldiers — recaptured Fort Brooke from the Confederacy and liberated the enslaved people in the city, according to the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. The next year, local newspapers reported, Black farmers borrowed American flags to march through the city a full year before the first Juneteenth.
Since then, Tampa has proudly celebrated its Emancipation Day on May 6.