City of Tacoma to hold Juneteenth celebration at Tollefson Plaza on Wednesday

The city of Tacoma will recognize the newly created federal holiday by holding “Juneteenth: Freedom Celebration” on Wednesday.

It will be the first time the city celebrates June 19 since it became a federal holiday last year. The City of Tacoma Office of Equity and Human Rights is sponsoring the event.

The event at Tollefson Plaza, 1548 Commerce St., will be from noon to 1 p.m. and include speeches from Mayor Victoria Woodards, Evergreen State College dean Marcia Tate Arunga, Tacoma poet Lydia Valentine and artist and muralist Dionne Bonner. Food will be available from food trucks in the plaza.

“We want to provide an opportunity to join together as a community and recognize the importance of celebrating Juneteenth,” said Lisa Woods, the city’s chief equity officer. “This is an opportunity to learn about Juneteenth, hear from our Black leaders and for our community to have a place to speak.”

June 19 is an officially observed holiday in the city after the council passed an ordinance in December.

Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas June 19, 1865 with news the Civil War was over and enslaved people were free. Though the Emancipation Proclamation was two years before, it wasn’t enforced in many places until after the war.

The city’s administrative offices will be closed June 20 in observance of Juneteenth. The city’s garbage, recycling and yard/food waste pick-ups will not be affected. The Tacoma Recovery & Transfer Center, 3510 S. Mullen St., will be open as normally scheduled from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 20. All of the Tacoma Public Library’s branches will close on June 18, in recognition of Juneteenth.