All are welcome to join a lively observance celebrating Black culture while recognizing the need to strive toward liberty and justice.
Odyssey World International Education Services, a Black-led and family-operated nonprofit, is hosting a free event from 1 to 7 p.m. June 17 at Esther Short Park to commemorate Juneteenth.
Juneteenth celebrates the liberation of the last enslaved African Americans by Texan Union soldiers in 1865, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, according to a city of Vancouver press release.
Speakers will provide remarks at the event, which will be followed by a gospel performance and a Marshall Leadership Award ceremony. Recipients of the NAACP Afro Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics scholarship will also be announced.
