Juneteenth commemorates the abolition of slavery in the U.S., and more specifically it celebrates the news of the 1863 emancipation finally making it to enslaved people Texas, at the far west of the confederate states, more than two years later. 

Maryland has observed Juneteenth since 2014, but it didn’t become a federal holiday until two years ago. This afternoon at 5 p.m. Carroll Baldwin Memorial Hall in Savage—20 miles south of Baltimore in Howard county— will host its first Juneteenth celebration. 

We hear from Norma Broadwater, manager of Carroll Baldwin Memorial Hall and from Ireatha Leona Woods, organizer of the event and proprietor of Leona’s Sewing Studio.

Links: Juneteenth Celebration at Carroll Baldwin Memorial Hall, Leona's Sewing Studio.

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