A Juneteenth celebration is set for Wednesday, June 19, at the Rose Park Senior Center. Admission to the luncheon, which begins at 11:30 a.m., is free to people age 55 and older.

The Abilene Black Chamber of Commerce will host a Pre-Juneteenth Health, Fitness, and Business Expo on Saturday, June 15.

The expo will be held 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Abilene Convention Center, 1100 N. Sixth St. Free admission, including lunch.

On June 19, the celebration at Rose Park Senior Center, 2625 S. Seventh St., will be 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m. The event is in partnership with Positive Image Positive People of Abilene. 

June 19 marks the date in 1865 that word came to Blacks in Texas that slavery had ended with the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Lincoln. The Emancipation Proclamation became effective Jan. 1, 1863, but word of that event didn’t reach Texas slaves until June 19, 1865. President Joe Biden signed a bill on June 17, 2021, making Juneteenth a federal holiday. 

The annual Watch Night service, which is held in many Black churches on New Year’s Eve, grew from the date that the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect. The first service, called Freedom’s Eve, was elebrated Dec. 31, 1862.