Juneteenth celebration held in Minneapolis

The Twin Cities celebrated Freedom Day, also known as Juneteenth, on Saturday.

The all-day event at Bethune Park in Minneapolis started with a parade followed by live music and entertainment. Not only is the celebration important in bringing the community together, but it takes time to remember the purpose behind the day.

Juneteenth commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. state of Texas in 1865. It is viewed more generally as representing the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. 

"It's celebrating liberation, celebrating freedom, and we always have to remember that freedom and liberation is a precious thing,” said Keith Ellison, Minnesota attorney general. “You have to fight for it. Every day, you have to keep on making sure that we can have our free speech rights, we can have a fair criminal justice system, we can have the right to cast a vote and pick our leaders, have a voice in our community."

This is the first year the celebration was held at Bethune Park.