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Juneteenth festivities include help for residents in path of Harbor Bridge

Posted at 10:22 PM, Jun 16, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-16 23:22:34-04

Each year, Juneteenth commemorates the day slaves in Texas first learned of the Emancipation Proclamation, abolishing the slave trade. But this year, one local event also had another focus: helping the residents soon to be displaced by the Harbor Bridge project.

In the Hillcrest neighborhood, residents gathered at H.J. Williams Park for the annual Juneteenth festivities. However, the Texas Association of Black Personnel in Higher Education (TABPHECC) also hosted a medical, job and financial fair at the event.

There, residents from the nearby neighborhoods in the path of Corpus Christi’s new Harbor Bridge learned about their options for relocation and other resources available. As we’ve reported, these historic northside neighborhoods are soon in for a massive change as the construction project gets underway.

Despite the upcoming construction and stress of relocation, organizers still managed to keep the event’s focus squarely on Juneteenth itself.

"Many people don’t know what Juneteenth means, what it is, where it comes from and why we celebrate it," Tina Butler, with TABPHECC, explained. "That’s another reason why we’re here today."

That reason, of course, is Juneteenth, an annual commemoration held on June 19 in honor of the day slaves in Texas first learned of the Emancipation Proclamation.