Red Wing to celebrate first-ever Juneteenth event

For only the second year in a row, Juneteenth will be celebrated as a Federal holiday on Sunday.

The City of Red Wing is also celebrating Juneteenth for the first time in Central Park on Sunday.

June 19 commemorates the freeing of enslaved African Americans and now a growing number of communities are planning events to mark the day.

Liz Schmidt with the Goodhue County Historical Society put together a collection of contributions made by Red Wing’s Black community and a look at the history of racism in the city.

“I was really wanting to say this is really kind of difficult for us to talk about but it’s really important to confront it,” Schmidt said. “It’s incredibly important with history they can see themselves in.”

Red Wing’s event starts at noon on Sunday at Central Park.