Notice
Rescheduled Events - Posted June 18, 2008
The Iowa Juneteenth King & Queen Coronation and Banquet that was scheduled for June 13 was moved to June 30 because of flood-related events. See the Calendar of Events for more details.
The Health Forum that was scheduled for June 18 was moved to July 18 because of flood-related events. See the Calendar of Events for more details.
2008 Theme:
Iowa
Families: Guardians of Freedom, Liberty & Citizenship
Welcome to the Iowa Juneteenth Website!
When this web site was first constructed, only seven states had passed legislation designating Juneteenth National Freedom Day as an official holiday – Iowa has the distinct honor of being that seventh state! Currently, there are 26 states, and the District of Columbia, that have made Juneteenth an official observance. The success of the National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign has come under the committed and expert leadership of Dr. Ronald V. Myers, Founder & Chair of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation. The national holiday campaign continues to grow in support and success as we look forward to the entire nation observing Juneteenth National Freedom Day as a companion holiday to Independence Day in the historical context of truly celebrating freedom, liberty, and citizenship as Americans.
Several cities in Iowa have local Juneteenth observances. Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Davenport, and Waterloo all have great observances and we encourage you to attend and support their activities. The Iowa Juneteenth Observance, an affiliate of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, has a statewide focus and is annually held in Iowa’s capitol city, Des Moines. Juneteenth is the largest African American activity in Iowa and we invite all Iowans to attend our activities.
We hope you visit this site often (inform your friends about this site) and ask that you support the sponsors of the Iowa Juneteenth Observance!
Gary Lawson, Founder & General Chair of the Iowa Juneteenth Observance