Dozens of community members gathered in a Savannah park Saturday to commemorate the official end of slavery in America.
The Daughters of Mary Magdalene held its annual day-long Juneteenth event in the 38th Street Park to recognize the importance of slavery’s official fall on June 19, 1865, the day Texas, the last state to abolish slavery, emancipated its slaves, said Marilyn Jackson, chairwoman for the Savannah chapter of the group.
“Juneteenth is the day we all became free,” Jackson said.
Jackson said the Daughters of Mary Magdalene “aims to bring awareness to historical education and political issues in our community.”
“We are an awareness group and we want to bring awareness to the people and educate the youth. We want to give everyone a free education in Juneteenth 101,” Jackson said.
The group on Saturday recognized six honorees in the community and provided prayer, entertainment and food for those who attended.