HARTSVILLE, SC (WBTW) – The City of Hartsville held a Juneteenth commemoration for the first time Saturday afternoon.
Juneteenth is the oldest known day recognized to remember the ending of slavery in the United States.
The celebration dates back to 1865 two years after president Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
Family, friends and vendors gathered at Pride Park in Hartsville for a day of music, entertainment and face painting.
Event organizers say the celebration was held to educate the young people.
“I’ve been collecting information for years about it and talking to people about it of wanting to do one here and when I asked them about Juneteenth they tell me they never heard of it before. So I thought it was about time for us to have one here and let them find out what it’s all about,” said Hartsville City Councilwoman Aldena Graham.
Graham says the organizing group has been meeting to plan how best to commemorate Juneteenth locally for months.
The Juneteenth celebration in Hartsville will be an annual event.