By LOIS KINDLE
lekindle@aol.com
The Multi-Cultural Heritage Club in Sun City Center will host Juneteenth 2026, in observance of the federal holiday recognizing the day in 1865 when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to end the practice of slavery — two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
Themed “Free at Last,” the event celebrating this important turning point in American history will take place Friday June 19 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Sun City Center Community Hall, 1910 Pebble Beach Blvd. S. It’s open to the public and will include an initial half-hour meet-and-greet with the day’s distinguished speakers — Florida Sen. Darryl Rouson, Hillsborough County Commissioner Gwen Myers, Bishop Michelle B. Patty and Sula Too LLC CEO Ersula K. Odom — and a buffet luncheon catered by Banquet Masters.
“It’s a fun, informative, educational event for folks of all ethnicities during a time when history is trying to be erased,” said Vincente Lopez, president of the Multi-Cultural Heritage Club. “Each of the speakers will present a unifying message and share what Juneteenth means to them.”
The Kumba Dancers and a live, jazz entertainer will perform. Odom, a curator of African American artifacts, is bringing some rare pieces from her collection with her.
The cost is $25 per person, payable via cash, check or Zelle. Tickets are available from 10 a.m. to noon at the SCC Atrium Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Tables for eight will also be sold. They can also be obtained by emailing mhcpresident1@gmail.com or calling 813-641-4620.
Proceeds will benefit the Samaritan Service’s Alzheimer’s Auxiliary in Sun City Center, which provides up to 60 hours of free respite services for caregivers of folks with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia.
Event sponsors include Suncoast Credit Union; M & M Printing; Raymond James Financial – Gabriel Mbulo; Akin Funeral Home; and Williams Screen Printing.
About Juneteenth
Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, effective January 1, 1863, declared that enslaved people in states rebelling against the Union “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” In practice, it freed few people immediately. The order applied only to Confederate held areas and excluded border states and regions already under Union control.
As Union forces advanced through the South, many enslaved people fled behind Union lines. But in Texas, where there had been no major battles and little Union presence, slavery continued largely unchanged. Enslavers from other states even moved to Texas, viewing it as a safe haven where the institution could persist.
Slavery remained intact in Texas until June 19, 1865, when U.S. General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston and read General Orders No. 3:
“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”
The announcement marked the final enforcement of emancipation in the last Confederate state.
Juneteenth, short for June Nineteenth, became a national holiday in 2021, when then-President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act.
All 50 states and Washington, D.C. officially recognize Juneteenth as either a paid state holiday or official observance.
Juneteenth is also known as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day and Juneteenth National Independence Day.
