Juneteenth, short for “June Nineteenth,” celebrates the effective end of slavery in the United States when, on that date in 1865 and two-and-a-half years after President Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, nearly 2,000 federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to ensure the freeing of all people still enslaved there. Celebrations erupted across the state as word spread, and the holiday has traditionally been commemorated with family gatherings, prayer services, music and barbecues.

On Wednesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order making Juneteenth a paid holiday for state workers, saying, “It is a day we should all reflect upon. It is a day that is especially relevant in this moment in history.”

John Brown Lives welcomes the public to walk about a “memorial field” of markers at the John Brown Farm that bear silent witness to some of the hundreds of black lives ended in recent years due to police violence and vigilantism. Several markers will be installed on Friday, and more will be added over the coming weeks. COVID-19 protocols requiring social distancing and wearing masks are in place.

John Brown Lives, based in Westport, describes itself as “a freedom education and human rights project and the official NYS Friends Group of the John Brown Farm.” For more information, contact Executive Director Martha Swan at info@johnbrownlives.org or 518-744-7112.