Marches, reflection as US marks Juneteenth

The United States is poised to mark Juneteenth for the first time as a federal holiday commemorating the end of the legal enslavement of black Americans.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday signed a bill making Juneteenth the eleventh federally recognised holiday, little more than a year after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis ignited nationwide protests for racial justice and for ending police brutality.

Juneteenth, or June 19, marks the day in 1865 when a Union general informed a group of enslaved people in Texas they had been made free two years earlier by President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War.

Concerts, rallies, art displays and lots of feasting are among events planned for Juneteenth around the country.

Atlanta and its metropolitan area have been celebrating Juneteenth for years.

Richard Rose, president of the Atlanta chapter of grassroots activist group the NAACP, said the designation of Juneteenth as a federal holiday resonates in the city often called the "cradle of the civil rights movement".

"While we celebrate, what we have to remember is that we must fight for our rights - in the ballot box, in the schools. And we have to stand up, city-to-city, across this nation," Rose said.

Parades and festivals scheduled in Atlanta on Saturday include a march starting across from the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King preached and led protests for voting rights, equal access to public services, and social and economic justice.

Some 30km northeast of Atlanta, Stone Mountain, a village of about 6500 people, is holding its first ever Juneteenth celebration this year.

Looming over the village is a collection of nine-storey Confederate figures carved into a sprawling rock face, the largest monument to the pro-slavery legacy of the US South.

Across the country, many events will take place in-person, unlike last year, as the United States emerges from the coronavirus pandemic.

Chicago's 'March For Us' has a 1.6km-long route in the city's business district known as the Loop.

"We celebrate Independence Day, so we would be remiss if we don't celebrate the day that people who were worth three-fifths of the person finally became free and started this journey towards equality," said March for Us organiser Ashley Munson.

Munson said that while strides have been made, recent incidents of police brutality toward black people, and legislation in several US states that curtails voting rights show much work still needs to be done.

Among events planned in New York City is 'Juneteenth in Queens', a week-long festival of virtual panel discussions set to conclude on Saturday with food trucks of jerk chicken and waffles, BBQ and more, as well as in-person live performances.

The initiative is spearheaded by Assembly member Alicia Hyndman, who sponsored legislation last year that made Juneteenth a state holiday.