COLFAX, N.C. — President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law two years ago.
This made Juneteenth a federal holiday which was the first since Martin Luther King Junior Day back in 1983.
Juneteenth commemorates the day when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas found out that the civil war had ended and they were free.
This announcement came two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.
Here in the Triad, dozens of organizations and agencies honor the holiday and held events all weekend long.
Juneteenth SOULebration was held at the Piedmont Farmers Market Monday.
The event was able to last a couple of hours before getting rained out.
People still came out from all over to spend a couple of hours outside, enjoying the festivities and learning more about Juneteenth.
Brenda White said she attends multiple Juneteenth events every year. "It's very exciting because it's diversity. You see people of all colors, all races, and all genders, everybody is welcome. Everybody knows the importance of our history and just to keep it going."
The celebration at the farmers market had live music, dancing, food, games, and local vendors selling their handmade items.
Jashawn Kornegay owns Jay's Flavors, a lemonade business.
"This is so important to me. This is my first Juneteenth celebration. I’m so excited, I love the black, the white, everybody in the community so to see everybody coming together it’s a big, major accomplishment and I just feel so honored just to be here,” Kornegay said.
Chris Graves worked for Benefits N More. His booth was set up in hopes of just meeting more people out in the community.
Graves said, "It's amazing. We are just glad to be a part of it. It's a good celebration, remembering why we are here as important as well."
There were even activities for kids at the event as well as an opportunity for them to learn more about the Juneteenth holiday.
Marjhe Johnston said she wants her children to get a sense of togetherness from the event. "We thought that it was really important. I'm a mom of brown kids. I'm actually a foster mom. We've had many different colors of kids over the years and we love to celebrate each and every one of their cultures. This is a part of ours. They are Americans, I'm Jamerican, I'm from Jamaica so we're just kind of out here celebrating with everyone."