Juneteenth celebration held at SC State House

Columbia, S.C. (WOLO)— On Friday, people gathered at the State House in recognition of Juneteenth.

The event was organized by the Xi Psi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc.

“As we celebrate that freedom, we want to rally the call across our state and across our nation, that not only should this be a federal holiday but it should be a local holiday as well,” said Hamilton Grant, a brother of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

Juneteenth is the commemoration of the day slaves in Texas were told they had been freed. It was nearly two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

“Juneteenth, for us, means more than just a special day. It is a day that we’re able to celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation and the freeing of slaves. Although it took some time to do it, here we are today. But we want to see legislation, we want to see change in the State House to make this a federal holiday,” said Dejr Bostick, a speaker and organizer of the Juneteenth rally.

This year’s Juneteenth is especially notable, following protests spurred by the death of George Floyd and discussions over racism in our country.

“African Americans, even though we’ve been freed, we feel like we’re not free. We still feel like we’re still enslaved in certain instances. Whether it’s systemically, or whether it’s gunned down by the hands of police officers. So today is why we celebrate it, it’s also a call to action to hey, black lives do matter,” said Grant.

Right now, there’s momentum as changes are being made. Juneteenth rallies across the country continue that momentum.

“For our generation, being young, black millennials or millennials in general, this is a lot of momentum. This is our chance at the Civil Rights Movement. This is our time, the baton has been passed. And we have to take it and ride with it,” said Grant.

This year, several companies including Target, Nike, and Ben and Jerry’s are observing the day as a company holiday giving employees the day off.