Juneteenth Commemoration
New York designated Juneteenth as an official state holiday for the first time on June 19, 2021. Juneteenth (short for June 19th) commemorates African American freedom in our country. Its history goes back to June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger read federal orders in Galveston, Texas, that declared all enslaved people in Texas were free. While President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation a full two and a half years before the end of the war, it wasn't until the war's end that enslaved people in Texas knew they were free.
DEC recognizes the continued struggle and delayed liberation some communities face as they search for environmental freedoms and equality. We support the spirit of Juneteenth by:
- Ensuring all New Yorkers and visitors have the freedom to access, enjoy, and feel welcome on state lands;
- Providing Community Impact Grants, competitive grants that empower communities to develop and implement solutions to environmental justice issues;
- Working with partners including the Climate Action Council to implement a plan that will achieve the State's bold clean energy and climate agenda that will improve public health and the environment in the state's most marginalized communities; and
- Facilitating the work of the Climate Justice Working Group - composed of representatives from environmental justice communities statewide - in developing the finalized criteria that incorporates the needs of disadvantaged communities and ensuring these populations receive at least 35 percent, with a goal of 40 percent, of the benefits of investments from both the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act.
This Juneteenth, we continue to strive for environmental and climate justice. The freedom to enjoy a clean and safe environment is important to every New Yorker, and we will continue to work to bring equity and justice to historically overburdened communities
Be sure to check out Juneteenth events around the state and help commemorate the independence and liberty achieved more than 150 years ago and the fight for freedom still underway today (links leave DEC website):
Binghamton Juneteenth celebration 2023 | Assata Shakur Park, Binghamton, NY | June 17, 2023
Upcoming Juneteenth 2023 Events in Albany, NY
African American Heritage | Buffalo Juneteenth | Buffalo
Hamilton Hill Arts Center - Schenectady
DEC's website content is available in English, Spanish, and 11 additional languages. At the bottom of every webpage, you can find the translation section. Each language link will bring you to a mirror of DEC's website translated into the selected language.
Office of Communication Services NYSDEC
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233
