Juneteenth walk and celebration held in Mount Vernon’s Hartley Park

The holiday marks the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free.

Lauren Del Valle

Jun 8, 2025, 4:11 PM

Updated 2 hr ago

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The City of Mount Vernon and the Yusuf Shah Islamic Center held a special Juneteenth walk and celebration on Sunday at Hartley Park.
It also featured the raising of the Pan-African Juneteenth flag.
The holiday marks the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free.
Community leaders say the event aims to bring people of all ages together to learn the history behind the day.
"We want youth to understand that this flag is being raised for them to look up and understand what their ancestors could not see or even dream of with this flag being raised today," said Commissioner Kathleen Walker-Pinckney with the Mount Vernon Recreation Department.
Former President Joe Biden signed legislation making Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021.