By Delores Jones
Kansas City, Missouri – This weekend, communities around the country celebrate Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery. It took a whole year and a half, until June 19, 1865, before news of the emancipation proclamation reached the town of Galveston, Texas. The holiday spread through Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma. It wasn't until the 1960s that it began to be celebrated in other parts of the country, including Kansas and Missouri. KC Currents' host Delores Jones recalls Juneteenth in Kansas City Kansas.
For the past 6 years, the NAACP has brought Juneteenth back to Kansas City Kansas. Events are also planned for this weekend in Olathe, Lawrence and other towns in both Kansas and Missouri.