The 19th of June or now known as Juneteenth marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and free all enslaved people. Now over 200 years later, this is the day where many African Americans come together to celebrate the end to slavery. Here in Erie for the last seven years, Angela McNair has had a hand in coordinating the celebration for the city. Now, after the passage through the senate to declare Juneteenth a federal holiday, this has many excited for the progress that's being made in the country and right here in Erie. McNair is Erie's Juneteenth Celebration Coordinator and says this is the next logical step for the country.

"It's now moving to a federal level, and I just saw the Senate passed a bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday that's amazing and I feel like it's long overdue," says McNair. 

This weekend the City of Erie and coordinators for Erie's Juneteenth celebration will be shutting down 12th and 13th streets for a block party style event. It's starting tomorrow at eight at night and until midnight. It's a social mixing and networking event so people within the community came come and meet others, talk and socialize. McNair is happy to have had a hand in the event's growth throughout the years.

"We're going to shut down the block between 12th and 13th and State, it's going to be a vendor style event. We hope the community comes out and supports Erie's black owned businesses," says McNair. 

On the 19th, the main celebration takes place. That starts from 11 to 7 on Saturday, with over 60 vendors from all black owned businesses across the city and food trucks to celebrate. McNair explains how excited she is for this weekend.

"I didn't ever imagine we'd get to the point where we would shut the block down, I always hoped that we could and I appreciate the city for working with us so that we could shut the block down, in downtown Erie. I feel like this is huge for the celebration and the African American community we usually don't have the opportunity to do something so big," says McNair. 

You can follow all updates for Erie's Juneteenth Celebration on their Facebook page.