The Turlock community gathered at Donnelly Park on Friday for the city’s first-ever Juneteenth celebration, organized by local activist group Las Dalias. It was June 19, 1865, when Union army general Gordon Granger read federal orders in Galveston, Texas, which mandated all enslaved people be freed. The date became known as the official end to slavery in the United States and is celebrated annually as Juneteenth. Friday’s event in Turlock saw black-owned businesses celebrated, black history and arts put on display and black voices amplified and empowered through poetry and music.