Juneteenth celebration June 20

The Georgetown Cultural Citizen Memorial Association will host “Embracing Change: The New Normal,” a virtual town hall event for the 68th annual Juneteenth celebration Saturday, June 20. The annual public event will feature two panel discussions beginning at 10:30 a.m.

Juneteenth event schedule

The event starts at 10:30 a.m. with a panel discussion on education with Paula Simmons, vice principal at Westview Middle School, as well as Georgetown ISD parents Mike Sedwick and Alexandria Clark. The panel will be moderated by Alicia Moore, Southwestern University Education Department chair.

A second panel discussion on social services will begin at noon and feature Ginna O’Connor, The Caring Place executive director, Rhonda Franklin-Romar of the Salvation Army, and Kelly St. Julien from The Boys and Girls Club of Georgetown. The panel will be moderated by Suzy Pukys, Georgetown Health Foundation vice president of strategic philanthropy.

To participate in the event, visit bit.ly/2XKPmRB.

Juneteenth history

Juneteenth marks the day on June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers landed at Galveston and reported that the Civil War was over and slavery had ended. The Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves had been in effect since January 1, 1863, but word did not reach Texas for more than two years. Juneteenth was declared an official state holiday in Texas in 1980.

Contact information

For more information, contact (512) 630 0634 or gccma1975.org@gmail.com.