The Women’s Democratic Club will be hosting a hybrid meeting on Saturday, June 18th, to celebrate Juneteenth. For all of us wanting to meet in person, we will be gathering at a private pavilion at Crescent Park in Sandy, 230 East 11000 South, while simulcasting the event on Zoom. Really easy access off I-15, look for the WDC signs, or join us virtually!
Juneteenth National Freedom Day will be celebrated and recognized in Utah for the FIRST TIME. This holiday marks the day in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, to tell remaining enslaved African Americans the Civil War had ended and they were free. The holiday has been celebrated by Black Americans since the late-19th century.
The law recognizing Juneteenth in Utah was sponsored by state Rep. Sandra Hollins, D-Salt Lake City, who was the first (and only) African American woman to serve in the Utah Legislature.
Representative Sandra Hollins and Robert Burch, Executive Director of Sema Hadithi African American Heritage and Culture Foundation, a nonprofit that researches African American history in Utah and the Mountain West will join us for a history lesson and a celebration of Juneteenth National Freedom Day.