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From its outset, Juneteenth was both a celebration of freedom and an opportunity to organize and advocate for social and political change, said historian Anthony Pratcher II, a former ASU and NAU professor who now teaches at the University of Washington Tacoma.

"The wonderful thing about this concept of Juneteenth ... is that it's an opportunity for a group of people that have faced exclusion from the body politic to express their enduring legacy within it," Pratcher said. "You can see (Juneteenth) as a way for African American settlers in the region, Phoenix specifically, to really begin celebrating their collective political strength."

To this day, that meaning has remained unchanged for many. Ali Nervis, an activist and owner of Grassrootz Bookstore in downtown Phoenix, which has long served as a community space for Black Phoenicians, described Juneteenth celebrations as a continuing "wake-up call" and a holiday that transcends mere celebration.

"If everything looks like a celebration, if everything looks and feels like there's no work to be done, then I think those who have been marginalized ... will continue to be marginalized," Nervis said.

"Yes, we can celebrate, we can have a good time, but let's also dedicate ourselves to the work of making sure everybody can enjoy those freedoms," he later added.

The celebration honors the day federal troops announced in Galveston, Texas, that the Civil War had ended and enslaved people were free by executive decree. That happened on June 19, 1865 — two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863, as it took a long time for Union troops to reach all Confederate states and convey the news.

The celebration that followed became known as "Juneteenth," a combination of the month of June and the number 19, by the newly freed people in Texas. Juneteenth became an annual celebration in many Texas communities, and it later spread to other parts of the country as people from Texas migrated to other states, including Arizona.

Juneteenth events have become even more widespread and popular after it was made a federal holiday in 2021, following the massive racial justice protests that erupted after George Floyd's murder the previous year.

Activists say the holiday's increased attention has brought awareness to the challenges faced by the Black community and has spurred more frequent conversations about racial justice in the mainstream media. Some, however, also point out there's still a lack of public understanding about the deeper purpose of the holiday.

"Everybody seems to be partaking in it, which is an interesting feeling because for so long it's just been a Black celebration," Nervis said. "Everybody should participate ... but with the understanding that, it's a celebration, but also, work still needs to be done."

Clottee Hammons, the creative director of Emancipation Arts, an organization dedicated to educating the public about Black history through art and uplifting Black artists in Arizona, said she wants more Americans to learn about the full impact of Black history, including Juneteenth, and the lasting legacy of slavery.

She has made that mission the focus of her activism. That commitment is especially important to her because her grandfather, George Hammons, was a sergeant in the 10th Cavalry Regiment, known as the Buffalo Soldiers.

"The increased attention has definitely been both positive and negative. Once again, the focus and impact of chattel slavery is diverted to current themes and marketing," she said. "(On Juneteenth) no one comments on the criminals that kept people enslaved two years after the Emancipation Proclamation."

Black communities in Arizona celebrated Juneteenth before it became a holiday

Long before gaining widespread national recognition, Juneteenth was already a significant celebration for Black communities in Arizona.

The first recorded Juneteenth celebration in the state took place in 1921, when about 500 Black Arizonans gathered at Eastlake Park in downtown Phoenix to participate in parades, listen to speakers and enjoy food and music, according to the Phoenix's African American Historic Property Survey.

Other forms of Emancipation Day celebrations in Phoenix began even earlier. In 1911, Booker T. Washington delivered a landmark speech at Eastlake Park during the Great Emancipation Jubilee, Pratcher said.

These cultural celebrations were a powerful space for Black Arizonans because of attempts to limit their presence in public spaces and oppressive segregation policies that were installed even prior to Arizona becoming a state in 1912.

"It has not traditionally been easy for Black people to gather in large numbers in Phoenix," Hammons said. "Families and individuals could gather at Eastlake Park to celebrate freedom, without police disrupting their joy."

To this day, hundreds of people continue to gather in Eastlake Park every Juneteenth. Both the park and its surrounding neighborhood have been at the core of African American life in Phoenix.

"Eastlake Park in Phoenix winds up becoming a node of celebration spaces, like a civic space for African-American communities," said Pratcher. "That's one of the places where you'll wind up seeing large public or civic celebrations of Juneteenth in the Phoenix area."

In addition to food, music, prayers, parades and artistic performances, the essence of Juneteenth celebrations in Phoenix has primarily revolved around the oral stories and speeches delivered during the holiday events.

"The keynote of most of these celebrations would be some type of oration," Pratcher said. "Everyone, after participating in the parade and seeing the performances, would listen to someone offer a lecture about the progress African Americans had made since emancipation. And that is something that Black Arizonans were very proud of."

The primary purpose of these celebrations, Pratcher added, has been to highlight the contributions of the Black community to society, the progress that they have made as a people and the progress that still needs to be made.

"If anything, Juneteenth was a unifying holiday for the Black community in Phoenix. It was an opportunity for everyone to work together for a larger goal," he said.

At Phoenix's Grassrootz Bookstore, Juneteenth is about passing down history

For Nervis, the Juneteenth celebrations he hosts at his bookstore are all about preserving that purpose and passing down the history and meaning of the celebration.

"Our Juneteenth events have all been focused on education," Nervis said. "Our focus has really been on, yes, what is Juneteenth, but how do we continue to push for that freedom and justice, liberty for all that America promises?"

Nervis said he opened the bookstore in 2019 because he wanted to create a place where people could build community, learn about Black history and culture, and "effect change."

Every wall of the establishment, which is just a few blocks from Eastlake Park, is lined with books, magazines, records and artwork by Black authors and artists. Its shelves feature hundreds of titles on Black history, culture and social issues.

Beyond its collection, the space also serves as a community hub, hosting events such as free monthly breakfasts catered by a local vendor, monthly free haircuts, open mic nights and book discussions, among other gatherings.

"Spaces like this are critically important when it comes to understanding history, Black history," he said. "This space is dedicated to learning. ... Beyond just the books and the pages that are here, we do a lot of book study, we do a lot of discussion, we do a lot of events that are directly aimed at educating the community, creating a more enlightened society."

As the holiday gains wider recognition, Nervis said spaces like his bookstore grow in significance. Since Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, Nervis said he has seen greater public awareness about the celebration and views the increased attention as an opportunity to encourage civic engagement and continued education.

"It's an important shift," he said. "The increased awareness ... is prompting people to be more active, to be more mobilized and motivated to be a part of the solution."

Pratcher said he also sees the widespread celebrations as an opportunity and said he hopes that awareness will continue to grow.

"I think that Black history is something we constantly have to educate our community about," he said. "Through this constant education, you slowly see a growing awareness about African-American history, about Black history, and about holidays, celebrations, historical figures that matter not just to African Americans, but to our entire community."