On Thursday, President Biden signed a bill into law making Juneteenth a national federal holiday. Community leaders in the Triad are redoubling their efforts to make this year's local celebration one to remember.
There will be virtual and in-person events all day long programmed by various Greensboro cultural institutions.
Greensboro History Museum Curator of Education Rodney Dawson says he's particularly proud of the museum's contributions this year. These include God With Us — a history of the African American church in the Triad — and the Green Book bike tour. These books were once used like a phone book for African Americans during segregation who traveled the country in need of hotels and restaurants that would take them in.
"One of the sites is the historic Magnolia House here in Greensboro that was a lodging place where people like James Baldwin, James Brown — you name it — folks would come and stay," says Dawson. "So, we've got about four locations. We're going to take off via bike and every time we get to one of those locations we're going to have a short speech about what it meant to the African American community."
Dawson says it will be a roughly three-mile journey in all. Juneteenth celebrations begin with the Greensboro proclamation Saturday at 9 a.m., followed by storytime and dozens of events at locations throughout the city and online.