ALPENA — The Alpena News will not print a paper on Thursday because it is a federal holiday — Juneteenth. The News does not print a paper on federal postal holidays, as the U.S. Post Office is closed, and papers are delivered via mail.

According to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, “Juneteenth is a significant date in American history and the African American experience. The name is a play on the date of June 19th, 1865. On that day, the Union Army made its way into Galveston, TX under the leadership of General Gordon Granger, and he announced to the people of Texas that all enslaved African Americans were free.”

In Alpena, the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee, A Beloved Community, is hosting a free program led by Sandra Pilgrim-Lewis at 7 p.m. Thursday at Grace Lutheran Church, 119 W. Dunbar St.

The program, titled “1865, The Union Army and Juneteenth,” will detail Major General Gordon Granger’s arrival in Galveston, accompanied by Union soldiers, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation.

“The delivery and enforcement of General Order No. 3, along with the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, required repeated efforts and immense bravery from the Union soldiers,” a press release from the MLK Committee states. “For many of them, it was their first encounter with the harsh realities of slavery and human bondage. This pivotal moment in history, known as Juneteenth, highlights the challenges and successes of bringing the news of emancipation to those still held in slavery, as seen through the experiences of the Union soldiers who delivered it.”

For more information about Juneteenth, visit the National Museum of African American History website here:

https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/what-juneteenth.

“The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture,” the website explains. “It was established by an Act of Congress in 2003, following decades of efforts to promote and highlight the contributions of African Americans. To date, the museum has collected more than 40,000 artifacts, and nearly 300,000 individuals have become members. The museum opened to the public on September 24, 2016, as the 19th museum of the Smithsonian Institution.”