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Juneteenth Official Cumberland Holiday
On Tuesday, February 1, 2022 the Cumberland, Maryland Mayor and City Council unanimously voted to make "Juneteenth" an official city holiday. The day will be celebrated each year with city employees receiving a paid holiday. “Juneteenth” commemorates the day June 19, 1865 when Federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to take control over the state and announce that slavery had been abolished. The City of Cumberland’s actions follow Congressional approval of the holiday on June 17, 2021, with Maryland also recognizing it as a legal holiday that same day.
Several Juneteenth events and marches have been held in Cumberland over the past couple of years. The earliest Juneteenth related event we know of, and also on this website, was on June 19, 1968 with a rally at the Allegany County Courthouse on Washington Street. This coincided with the Poor People’s Campaign being held that same day in Washington, D.C. on the National Mall. That particular write-up also provides a brief but excellent overview of the history of “Juneteenth.”
The photo depicted here is from June 19, 2020 and shows Cumberland City Councilman Eugene Frazier speaking at a rally held in front of Cumberland’s City Hall.