Syracuse’s Juneteenth celebration fills Clinton Square Friday and Saturday after festivities kicked off Thursday in front of city hall.
The flag raising ceremony was an event unto itself, complete with drums and dancing. But past Syracuse Juneteenth Committee member Rick Wright provided some historical context of Syracuse as a hotbed of abolition and key stop on the Underground Railroad when the Fugitive Slave Act was passed in 1850.
“Daniel Webster, Secretary of State, at that time came to Syracuse and said that the people of Syracuse, you will obey the compromise of 1850," Wright said. "The law basically said that the federal marshals could come to northern cities and find people of our family who escaped from slavery, that they could be put back into bondage.”
Juneteenth came 15 years later when news of the end of slavery reached Galveston, Texas more than two years after the emancipation proclamation took effect. Celebrations began across the south the following year, Syracuse began organized festivities in 1988, and it became a federal holiday in 2021.
“The best thing about Juneteenth is that it welcomes people of all cultures and backgrounds to celebrate resilience, focus, courage, and pride in our great city," said Mayor Sharon Owens. The city's first Black mayor was named Grand Marshal and city parks commissioner Syeisha Byrd as Honorary Marshal.
The Juneteenth celebration runs Friday until 10 in Clinton Square and again Saturday from 11 a.m. with a parade starting at the Dunbar Center.
