On Saturday, June 17th, the World House Choir will participate in a Juneteenth Celebration sponsored by the Yellow Springs Community and the 365 Project.
The event starts at 10:30 AM with a walk from Yellow Springs High School to the program at Mills Lawn School. The path of the walk will include short educational stops recounting places of importance to the Black community in Yellow Springs.
The World House Choir will then kick off the program at Mills Lawn School at noon. Exciting presentations and performances are planned, and the choir will return to sing again before the end of the program.
Juneteenth commemorates the date of June 19, 1865, when Union Army troops arrived in Galveston, Texas where they delivered the news firsthand to enslaved people that they were free. They were delivering this news two months after the enslaved should have been freed following the surrender of the Confederate Army on April 9, 1865, the event that ended the Civil War. Rather than respond in a retaliatory manner, the formerly enslaved of Texas organized public celebrations centered on food and music.
Juneteenth became a U.S. federal holiday and a Village of Yellow Springs holiday in 2021. Because many employers have not yet incorporated the holiday into their schedules, the Yellow Springs Juneteenth Planning Committee decided to hold the celebration on Saturday, June 17, to enable more people to participate.
This is a family event that will include activities for kids. Bring a chair or a blanket, and bring a picnic lunch. There will be food trucks, water and fruit available.