Several events to celebrate Juneteenth in Cape Girardeau

On Monday, June 19, according to Pew Research Center, "more than half of" the U.S. will celebrate Juneteenth as an official holiday, but for Cape Girardeau, the celebration won't start on the 19th.

Multiple events will be used to remember the holiday Saturday, June 17.

Juneteenth commemorates the date of the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring slaves free in Confederate territory Sept. 22, 1862, but the news took time to travel, and June 19, 1865, is when word of the proclamation reached African Americans in Texas.

On Saturday, three events will celebrate Juneteenth:

• Stop Needless Acts of Violence Please's (SNAP) sixth annual Prayer Walk Fundraiser will take place from 9 a.m. to noon at Ivers Square at City Hall in downtown Cape Girardeau. According to SNAP's Facebook page, the "registration is a small donation of $25 or as much as you would like to donate."
• City of Cape Girardeau's Juneteenth Celebration will be held from noon to 6 p.m. at Ivers Square. The event will have activities for children hosted by Discovery Playhouse, crafts and food vendors, social service organizations and performances from poet Ebony Stewart and musicians and bands such as Cat Daddy'O, Pfunk Dat and Ivas John.
• The Southside Juneteenth Stronger Together celebration will take place from 1 to 6 p.m. at Ranney Park in South Cape Girardeau. Free food, vendors and music will all be at the event hosted by Scratch Inx and Nova Fraction.