Powder Springs’ first Juneteenth celebration will be postponed from June 20 this year until June 19 next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This decision was made by a 4-1 vote recently by the Powder Springs City Council.
Since the vendor Three Rounds LLC at first said the event would be free to city, Councilwoman Nancy Farmer said she opposed using city funds to support this event.
However, City Manager Pam Conner explained that city funds would not be used.
Instead Conner said an amount equal to $5,000 would be used by the city to provide support services such as staffing, marketing, posters and signage.
Previously, Three Rounds LLC applied for and was authorized to receive a temporary event permit to host with the city a Juneteenth celebration this June in the city’s new town square park.
Recognized as a state holiday or special day of observance in almost every state, Juneteenth commemorates the June 19, 1865 announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas as well as the emancipation of enslaved African Americans throughout the former Confederate States of America.
Since Texas was the most remote of the slave states, the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 was not enforced in Texas until after the Confederacy collapsed.
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