On Monday, June 19th, the City of Cambridge will sponsor a parade celebrating Juneteenth. The parade will begin at the Cambridge City Hall (795 Mass Ave.) at 10am and will be ending at Riverside Press Park where they will have a few speakers, music, arts & crafts. They are in need of volunteers to help with hospitality for the events happening after the parade at Riverside Press Park (e.g., distributing snacks, water, etc.). As a church, we want to show support and participate in the celebration of Juneteenth by helping out with the event!

Information about volunteering:
Volunteers need to arrive at Riverside Press Park by 11am. For people wanting to go together from church, we will be meeting at the River St entrance of CSC at 10:40am and walk over together (around a 10-15 minute walk). If volunteers also want to participate in the parade beforehand, volunteers can leave the commemoration early at around 10:30am, head over to CSC, and walk to the park with everyone else at 10:40am. The event is expected to finish around 3pm, but you can help out with any portion of the time!

More information about the Juneteenth event:
Juneteenth is a day to celebrate the end of slavery in the United States. In 1863, President Lincoln’s executive order, the Emancipation Proclamation, allowed all people to be free. However, not all enslaved people were actually free until June 19th, 1865, after the Civil War had ended and Union soldiers arrived in Texas.

This year's parade will commemorate the first African American Fire Chief, Patrick H. Raymond, who was appointed as the chief of the Cambridge Fire Department in 1871.