“Today’s Juneteenth [celebration] has been such a holiday, so far. I can’t believe that we are celebrating the third national holiday, when it comes to Juneteenth. Today, we have music, food, and dancing,” expressed Geraldine Ambe, Bismarck-Mandan Juneteenth Committee Member.
BISMARCK, ND (KXNET) — Juneteenth celebrations were happening all across the nation on Wednesday, June 19, including North Dakota where the Bismarck-Mandan Juneteenth Committee hosted a celebration for the community at General Sibley Park.
“Today’s Juneteenth [celebration] has been such a holiday, so far. I can’t believe that we are celebrating the third national holiday, when it comes to Juneteenth. Today, we have music, food, and dancing,” expressed Geraldine Ambe, Bismarck-Mandan Juneteenth Committee Member.
JB Durocher, who was DJing the event, said he hopes the event will bring more awareness about what Juneteenth means, not only for the Bismarck and Mandan communities, but for the whole state.
During today’s event, there was plenty of history on hand — highlighting both national and local historical figures, like Satchel Paige, Era Belle Thompson, and John Lewis.
Ambe said that Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. The celebration is focused on bringing people together to keep the conversation going about what happened in the past, so people can learn from it.
“It’s all about celebration and it’s all about when liberation happened,” she said.
There was also a Ghanaian Dance and drum group that came out all the way from New York to join in the festivities.