WATCH LIVE: Atlanta’s Juneteenth parade takes off from The King Center

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Although June 19 was on Wednesday, the Juneteenth Atlanta Black History Parade stepped off on Saturday!

The parade is part of the 12th annual Juneteenth Atlanta Parade and Music Festival. It started near the King Center on Auburn Ave NE and ends at Piedmont Park, where the festival awaits.

The parade featured floats, flyover jets, dance troops, marching bands, dignitaries from every city in Georgia and more, according to organizers. Meanwhile, the festival has food vendors, musical performances, several pageants and cultural activities.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Juneteenth Atlanta Parade and Music Festival weekend begins

Brad Lewis, one of the organizers, said the event is focused on the youth paving the way for an inclusive future.

“I think it’s going to be an excellent opportunity for Atlanta’s biggest melting pot,” he said. “This even appeals to everyone because it’s about freedom.”

If you can’t make it out, Atlanta News First has you covered. The parade will be broadcast on PeachtreeTV at noon.

WATCH THE PARADE

PeachtreeTV is channel 17.1 over the air. If you are on the Dish Network or DirecTV, tune into channel 17. If you have Xfinity or Spectrum, find us on channel 7.

You can also stream the parade live on ANF+. Just search “Atlanta News First” on Roku, FireTV, Apple TV or YouTubeTV. ANF+ will stream the parade twice — live at noon and a re-run at 8 p.m.

See the parade route:

June 19, commonly called Juneteenth, is a celebration of the end of slavery in the U.S. President Joe Biden established it as a federal holiday in 2021.

On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation declared that enslaved people in the rebellious states were free. But in some areas, that order wouldn’t be a reality until years later.

On June 19, 1865, Union troops came to Galveston Bay, Texas, to spread the good news — more than 250,000 people in the state were free. Today, that date is known as Juneteenth.

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