Juneteenth celebrated in Seattle block party

Juneteenth, is a celebration of emancipation and day of remembrance for the abolition of slavery on June 19, 1865. This community celebration in Seattle’s Central District neighborhood was organized by the Sisters Who Care, a group of employees from the King County Youth Services Center, said Darlin Johnson, a juvenile probation officer. Johnson said they located the celebration just south of the facility, on Spruce Street, partly because youth incarceration and the building itself are such political issues. Some of the volunteers at the event had gone through the juvenile detention center themselves. “We are here to protect them. We are here to serve them,” she said.