LENEXA, Kan. — Speakers and performers will celebrate Juneteenth during a ceremony today in Lenexa, Kansas.
Johnson County is hosting its second annual Juneteenth celebration beginning at 11:30 a.m.
The theme is “Uniting Our Voices for Freedom.” The event will highlight African-American voices in various art forms from poetry to dance, and music to paintings. Jessica McCallop-McClellan will be the keynote speaker. Her great-grandfather operated a bus service for Black children in Johnson County to take them to high school in Wyandotte County when schools were segregated.
Juneteenth recognizes the day the last enslaved people in America learned they were free on June 19, 1865; about two months after the conclusion of the American Civil War. President Joe Biden made the day a federal holiday in 2021. Johnson County followed suit in late 2021. The county held its first Juneteenth celebration in 2022.
Johnson County’s event goes from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. It takes place at the Lenexa Civic Campus, 17101 West 87th Street Parkway in Lenexa, Kansas. The event is free to attend, parking is also free. Food and drink will be available for purchase.
