Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S., and is recognized as the nation’s second Independence Day. Despite its importance, the holiday is still largely unknown to (or misunderstood by) many non-Black Americans. You know what that means: It’s time for a history lesson! 

The story begins with another holiday that is little-known to Americans unfamiliar with Black history: Freedom’s Eve. 

Abraham Lincoln officially signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, declaring all enslaved people in confederate states legally free at midnight. Over the hours leading up to the first moments of 1863, many Black communities gathered in anticipation of the proclamation — some in secret. That New Year’s Eve became known as Freedom’s Eve, and marked the first Watch Night, a celebration that continues on Dec. 31 each year. 

But Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate army didn’t surrender to the union army until two years later, in April 1865. During that time, implementation of the Emancipation Proclamation was limited in areas that were still under Confederate control. 

That meant freedom was delayed for many, particularly in the state of Texas. Freedom for enslaved people in Texas came on — you guessed it — June 19, 1865, when Union Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston Bay, and led roughly 2,000 Union troops, many of whom were Black, to officially announce that the more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in the state were free by executive decree. That day became Juneteenth.

Still, it would take nearly a century for Juneteenth celebrations to come to Oregon. More on that below.

The delayed celebration of Black freedom in 1865 is part of what Mississippi civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer was referring to when she famously said “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” A prominent voting rights activist in the 1960s, renowned for her fight against voter suppression, Hamer sacrificed her health and livelihood in pursuit of the cause and once suffered a life-altering beating and assault in a Mississippi jail. 

Finally, in 2021 — and arguably in response to the nation’s pandemic-fueled reckoning with the murder of George Floyd, and America’s racial past at large — President Joe Biden named Juneteenth a federal holiday. Oregon lawmakers passed a bill to make Juneteenth a paid state holiday starting in 2022. 

Juneteenth in Vanport 

More than 80 years ago, local Black icon Clara Mae Peoples helped bring the first known Juneteenth celebrations to Oregon. After Peoples left Muskogee, Oklahoma, a state directly north of Juneteenth’s Texas birthplace, she arrived in Vanport to work in the city’s Kaiser shipyards. Peoples was surprised to see that many of her Black co-workers had never heard of Juneteenth, as it was common knowledge at home in Oklahoma. She asked her supervisor if she and her co-workers could celebrate during their 15-minute break. The supervisor said yes, as long as it didn’t go over 15 minutes. If the celebration of freedom ran over 15 minutes, the supervisor said, Peoples would be fired. 

And thus, Juneteenth in Oregon was born. 

On June 19, 1945, Peoples hosted one of the first Juneteenth picnics in the Portland area, for several hundred shipyard employees. Just three years later, a flood washed away Vanport, a wartime housing project where most Black Portlanders lived, including Peoples. After the Vanport flood of 1948, Peoples was one of many Black Oregonians who moved to Northeast Portland to find and rebuild community. 

Long after she left the shipyard, Peoples continued to create ways to celebrate America’s second Independence Day, including at a series of celebratory dinners at Bethel AME Church, where as a stalwart volunteer, she also founded what is now the Bethel EDC Food Program. 

Peoples founded the nonprofit Juneteenth Oregon in 1972, when “Peoples and Ora Lee Green organized Portland’s first Juneteenth parade and public celebration,” according to an article on the nonprofit’s website. The festivities took place at Holladay Park and later at Bethel AME Church, and included a parade, carnival, food and even a clown. Juneteenth celebrations in Portland have carried on ever since.

Peoples led the nonprofit until 2011, when she passed the role of director to her niece, Doris Rush. That same year, the Rev. Dr. Ronald “Doc” Myers, head of the campaign to have Juneteenth recognized as a national holiday, gave Peoples the nickname “Mother of Juneteenth.”

Peoples died at the age of 89 on Oct. 5, 2015. Since her passing, Peoples’ granddaughter, Jenelle Jack, took over the nonprofit her grandmother founded. Jack has been at the helm of Juneteenth Oregon for over a decade, carrying on the legacy of unity, freedom and remembrance that are integral to the meaning of Juneteenth. 

“I feel like I’ve put my footprint with my grandma’s,” Jack said. “Seeing the festival grow and how Juneteenth is being recognized makes my heart smile, knowing grandma worked hard to get close to where we’re at now.”

Over the years, the Bethel EDC Food Program Peoples established in 1969 has helped feed thousands of people. Local vendors and grocers donate food that is then distributed to families at the EDC Food Pantry and Woman in Missionary clothing closet. It’s still operating, on Fridays for two hours and after church on Sundays.

“My grandmother was one-of-a-kind,” Jack said. “She cared for her community. She made sure everyone had food. She taught us so much that even now I recognize what she was teaching us and didn’t even know it.”

Publically, many know Peoples as the Mother of Juneteenth, and in her personal life, she deeply inspired her granddaughter and many others.

“She was and is my hero,” Jack said. “She has accomplished so much. She endured so much and still, standing under 5 feet, she was a giant with the biggest heart. She was my biggest fan, my motivator, my go-to person. Grandma was always there for us.”

Jack was in her early twenties when her grandmother passed.

“I miss her smile and her laugh,” she said. “I feel her presence around me and that helps me know I still have her.”

This year, Juneteenth Oregon’s celebration will do something special to honor both Jack’s late grandmother and her father, who died earlier this year. 

“With the passing of our father this year, who was a huge part in preparing and setting up (for the celebrations), we have decided to do a dove release in their honor and everyone else we have lost.”

One of the tenets of Juneteenth Oregon is passing the baton of learning about and from Black history to the younger generation. The organization aims to help young people build positive futures by getting them directly involved in organizing Juneteenth events themselves. Juneteenth Oregon also runs the Miss Juneteenth Oregon program, which includes a pageant and enrichment workshops for Black girls. 

“Our kids are a big help and we’re hoping they would be the ones to take the baton when it’s their turn,” Jack said. “They know and are still learning the ropes.” 

This year, the annual Juneteenth Oregon Parade and Festival will go down on Saturday, June 20. As ever, first up is the Clara Peoples Freedom Trail Parade, which will begin at King Elementary School at 11 a.m., followed by and culminating with a free, all-ages festival at Lillis-Albina Park, which will feature live music and performances (503 Steppers, Bridge City Soul and more), kids’ activities, educational booths, local food and Black-owned vendors.

Whether you’re able to attend an official Juneteenth event or not, Jack urged all Oregonians to mark the day.

“No matter where you celebrate, go out and celebrate,” Jack said. “We are stronger together and Juneteenth is a celebration of our freedom.”

This article appears in June 17, 2026.