Juneteenth events coming to Albuquerque this weekend

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — For the second year, Juneteenth will be recognized as a federal holiday and events are taking place this weekend in Albuquerque to celebrate the day.

Juneteenth, also known as Black Independence Day, celebrates the anniversary of when slaves in Texas – the last state in the former Confederacy with institutional slavery – learned of their independence in 1865, after the end of the Civil War. In 2021, President Joe Biden signed an act into law to federally recognize Juneteenth as a holiday.

A full lineup of performers will be performing in Albuquerque Civic Plaza each day and vendors will be on-hand, including food vendors and black business owners, to celebrate Black culture and independence.

For more details on the event, visit the NM Juneteenth website or watch Joy Wang’s interview with City of Albuquerque’s Nichole Rogers and Presbyterian’s Michele Reeves.

Click the video above to view Joy’s interview.