We the People: Putting the YOU in the United States of America: Juneteenth and Independence Day

The City of St. Paul welcomes you to a virtual community commemoration of Juneteenth, in partnership with St. Paul Public Library and Ujamaa Place.

This classic Peabody Award–winning six-part series brings the birth of the American Republic to life through military reenactments, dramatic performances by professional actors, commentary by Revolutionary-era scholars, and eyewitness accounts of the times. It explores how Britain’s 13 colonies came to declare war upon their mother country, the progress of that war, and the lasting effects those events have had on the United States of America.

The first African slave in Texas arrived in 1528 with a shipwrecked party of Spanish Conquistadors, but it took until June 19, 1865 to end slavery in Texas and the United States. The anniversary of that day is celebrated as a holiday, Juneteenth.