There were Juneteenth celebrations all across the Twin Cities on Monday.

This is the first year Minnesota is recognizing it as a state holiday.

There was a block party on West Broadway Avenue in Minneapolis and another party in St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood.

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Organizers say it’s a holiday that should always be remembered and celebrated.

“It’s like the Fourth of July,” Marvin Anderson with the Rondo Juneteenth Celebration said. “It’s like any other major holiday in the United States. It’s our history. It’s the history of the United States.”

The Juneteenth holiday observes the end of slavery.