Members of the Shocker community are invited to attend the JuneteenthICT Parade, co-sponsored by Wichita State University’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Office of Student Engagement, Advocacy & Leadership, and Office Engagement, beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 18.

The parade celebrates the 157th anniversary of Juneteenth and will begin at Holy Savior Catholic Academy (3000 E. 13th St. N.). The parade will end at Historic McAdams Park, where an all-day Juneteenth ICT celebration will take place.

June 19 is the annual celebration of the end of slavery. Though the Emancipation Proclamation was signed Jan. 1, 1863, and the Civil War ended April 9, 1865, more than 250,000 remained enslaved in Texas when Union troops arrived in Galveston on June 19, 1865, to order their emancipation.

Texas was the first state to adopt the formal holiday in 1980. President Joe Biden signed legislation into law in 2021 establishing June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day.

For more information on the parade, visit the JuneteenthICT website.

For more information on the history of Juneteenth, visit the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture website.