WS Chronicle

In photo above: The crowd at the St. Philips Heritage Center at Old Salem Museums & Gardens on Thursday, June 4, listens to Dr. Reginald F. Hildebrand, associate professor of African-American studies and history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, at the Juneteenth Luncheon. (Photo by Erin Mizelle for the Winston-Salem Chronicle)

Dr. Reginald F. Hildebrand, associate professor of African-American studies and history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, speaks at the St. Philips Heritage Center at Old Salem Museums & Gardens on Thursday, June 4, in celebration of the country’s longest-running observance of the abolition of slavery: 150 years. Hildebrand read accounts from those who experienced emancipation from slavery.

Juneteenth is held on or around June 19, when Union forces arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news of the end of slavery on June 19, 1865. Juneteenth is normally known as a large festive celebration, filled with food and entertainment as well as black history and culture. That celebration in Winston-Salem will be Saturday, June 20, with an outdoor event from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the intersection of 5th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

The 11th annual Triad Juneteenth Africana Festival will feature the Rev. Byron Williams, an award-winning author; and honor popular 1950s R&B vocal group the “5” Royales, with a special tribute. Williams will discuss and sign copies of his best-selling book, “1963: The Year of Hope and Hostility,” which won the 2014 International Book Award for U.S. history.

The Juneteenth Festival is free and open to the public.

For more information, visit www.triadculture.org, or call 336-757-8556.