Parade kicks off Juneteenth celebration in Washington
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Members of the NAACP in Washington lead the Juneteenth parade as it kicks off on North Main Street in the city. [Mike Jones]
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The Brothers of the Hammer motorcycle group roll past the Washington County Courthouse during Washington’s Juneteenth parade. [Mike Jones]
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Washington Mayor Jojo Burgess points to paradegoers while marching down South Main Street in the city’s annual Juneteenth celebration. [Mike Jones]
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East Washington Mayor Demond Nixon waves from the passenger seat of the borough’s police cruiser while participating in the Washington Juneteenth parade. [Mike Jones]
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Spencer Thomas of Houston, Pa., stands atop the LIfe Church balcony on North Main Street while serving as the Washington Juneteenth Parade’s emcee. [Mike Jones]
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Washington School Board member John Campbell waves to the crowd while serving as the Washington Juneteenth Parade Grand Marshal. [Mike Jones]
Washington kicked off its annual Juneteenth celebration Saturday with a parade down Main Street led by numerous local organizations and dignitaries.
The parade ended at the pavilions on South Main Street, where the festivities were to include food and entertainment until late Saturday night.
The Juneteenth holiday celebrates June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston and freed about a quarter-million enslaved people in Texas, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.
Go to www.observer-reporter.com for a slideshow of the Juneteenth parade in Washington.