Juneteenth celebrated by local NAACP

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Governor Andy Beshear proclaimed June 19 as Juneteenth in the Commonwealth. This holiday celebrates the day slaves found out they were officially set free in the United States in 1865.

“It is our responsibility to look back on one of the ugliest chapters in our history and not to ignore it, to look at it straight on without turning away. We must declare that we do not hide from our history even the most painful parts. Instead, we strive to learn from it and promise never to repeat it,” Beshear says.

Juneteenth was officially signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021. However, some parts of the Commonwealth choose to celebrate a different day.

“Here in Kentucky, we celebrate Juneteenth. But if you go to the western part of the state, they celebrate the 8th of August because that’s when it was announced to African-Americans,” Ryan Dearbone, President of the Bowling Green/Warren County NAACP says.

Dearbone hopes to see everyone, not just African-Americans, celebrating Juneteenth every year.

“We need to treat it exactly like we would any other holiday, because some places are closed while some places aren’t. I think it’s important that it gets to a point where every business is closed; every city office is closed to where Juneteenth has the exact same feel as a 4th of July,” Dearbone says.