Patrick signs bill commemorating
end of slavery

Banner Staff

Well before the Civil War, Massachusetts was a hotbed of the abolitionist movement.

Now Massachusetts is one of 25 states to officially commemorate the end of slavery.

Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill proclaiming June 19 “Juneteenth Independence Day,” to be celebrated on the closest Saturday.

The Juneteenth Roxbury Homecoming celebration is an annual event that has taken place for the past 11 years on the third Saturday in June in Franklin Park.
On June 19, 1865, General Gordan Granger, head of the Union Army, told slaves in Galveston Texas that the Civil War was over and they were free.

The celebration that followed sparked a tradition that has lasted 142 years.

Some who attended the bill-signing in Roxbury on Saturday said it was all the more poignant because Patrick is the state’s first black governor.

“This is something we’ve all waited for a long time,” said Shirley Battle, 77. “It means so much that he signed it.”

Patrick said he appreciated the symbolism of the event.

“It’s a wonderful occasion for the neighborhood, the extended family, and the community to come together like this, and the spirit here is powerful,” he said.

(Associated Press)