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| Image courtesy of the city of Palm Springs
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The Palm Springs Black History Committee will host a Juneteenth Celebration of Culture event Saturday.
“Juneteenth is an important celebration and reminder about how far we have come as a nation,” Jarvis Crawford, manager of the James O. Jessie Desert Highland Unity Center, said in a statement.
The event is set for 5 p.m. Saturday at the James O. Jessie Desert Highland Unity Center, 480 W. Tramview Road, according to a statement from the city of Palm Springs. The evening will feature live music, free food and family-friendly activities, city officials said.
A King and Queen Royal Pageant was held Friday, featuring participants from preschool to high school with categories of “Beautiful Babies,” “Tiny Tots,” “Jr. Miss,” and “King and Queen,” according to the Palm Springs Black History Committee. Both events were held in the same venue.
Committee officials said this year’s events include educational and cultural activities produced by members of the Coachella Valley community and outside organizations.
“Juneteenth is a federal holiday celebrated on June 19 to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States,” Palm Springs city officials said in a statement. “The holiday was first celebrated in Texas, where on that date in 1865, the aftermath of the Civil War, slaves were declared free under the terms of the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation.”
