June 16: Annual Juneteenth Celebration Will Offer Food, Entertainment Family Activities

Food, entertainment, vendors a parade and family activities will be featured at this year’s annual Juneteenth celebration, planned Saturday, June 16 from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Bethune Park, 1304 N. 10th Ave., Minneapolis.

Long-commemorated in the African-American community, Juneteenth celebrations observe the anniversary of the freeing of the slaves in Texas at the end of the U.S. Civil War in 1865.

POCUM —the People of Color Union Members caucus of the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO — is one of the organizers of the Juneteenth event.

POCUM invites local unions and union members to get involved in Juneteenth. “Come and enjoy or be a community sponsor or both! This is a great way to get to know North Minneapolis,” said  MRLF organizer KerryJo Felder.

Teamsters Local 120, for example, will be providing its truck to serve a free barbecue meal to all union members — with food donated by UFCW Local 653 and Bakers Local 22.

To get involved, contact KerryJo Felder at kerry@minneapolisunions.org.

For more event information, visit minneapolisparks.org/juneteenth.

Filiberto Nolasco Gomez is a former union organizer and former editor of Minneapolis based Workday Minnesota, the first online labor news publication in the state. Filiberto focused on longform and investigative journalism. He has covered topics including prison labor, labor trafficking, and union fights in the Twin Cities.