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June 2008 Juneteenth Celebration to Take Place on Our Hill Saturday, June 21 The annual Juneteenth observance celebrating African American freedom and heritage will take place on Saturday, June 21, 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., on the hill at Fourth and Monroe Streets in Lynchburg. Juneteenth commemorates the Emancipation of African Americans during the Civil War. The event is free and open to the public. The celebration, sponsored by the Juneteenth Coalition, will coincide with the public opening of "For Our Own Good: African American Civic and Social Groups in Central Virginia" at the Legacy Museum (see related article). Other activities will include family-oriented music, a health fair, an arts and crafts mall, food and drink vendors, activities for children, tours of Legacy's new Children's Annex, and black history tours of the Old City Cemetery. Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration of the ending of slavery. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas, with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. The celebration of Juneteenth initially grew out of the freed slaves' desire to remember that great day in June 1865. Today Juneteenth celebrates African American freedom while encouraging self-development and respect for all cultures. `
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