POCATELLO — The holiday known as Juneteenth is an enormously significant day for African Americans. June 19, 1865, popularly known as emancipation day, the end of slavery, will be celebrated by the Pocatello Branch of the NAACP with an ethnic and traditional food picnic and other activities on June 19. The public is invited.

First, some background on Juneteenth and why it is so revered by the African-American community: President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring all enslaved persons in the Confederate States were freed on Sept. 22, 1862. But the proclamation could be enforced only behind the Union Army lines, and as the Civil War continued, many slave owners took their slaves to Texas, the southernmost slave state. By 1865, there were some 250,000 slaves in Texas.

On June 19, 1865, Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger took command of the 2,000 troops in Galveston, Texas, and then read General Order No. 3, informing Texans that all enslaved persons were henceforth free, effectively ending slavery.

The Pocatello Branch of the NAACP will celebrate Juneteenth from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Pocatello Senior Activity Center, 427 N. Sixth Ave.

“We were not able to have a Juneteenth get-together last year because of the pandemic,” said Kenneth Monroe, president of the Pocatello Branch of the NAACP. “It is important to acknowledge the holidays the Black community celebrates, and it is equally important to have the community celebrate with us with good food and music and generally having fun.”

Ethnic and traditional foods, familiarly known as barbecue, will be served both in the park and drive thru starting at noon. The drive thru option will be available for those who cannot attend but want to eat.

There will be games to play: volleyball, lawn darts, dominoes and lawn dominoes. And there will be a raffle.

NAACP 2021 scholarship winners will be revealed.

“We will announce the names of the three high school graduates who will attend college with the assistance of scholarship funds from the NAACP,” Monroe said. “We had a tremendous outpouring of support last summer at the farmers market, and because of that we can support three students.”

The cost is $10 for an adult picnic ticket (children under 3 years of age eat free), $20 for a barbecue food ticket and $25 for a drive thru food ticket, which includes a half rack of ribs and two 12-ounce sides. Tickets are available by emailing pocatellonaacp@live.com, calling 208-478-2150 or writing Pocatello Branch NAACP, P.O. Box 4192, Pocatello, ID 83205. Like the PocatellO NAACP on Facebook.