NEW YORK (WABC) — Events for Juneteenth are being held throughout the Tri-State area.
In Lower Manhattan, a memorial service was held at an African burial ground.
Roosevelt André Credit sang the Black National Anthem during the service.
The site is located near Broadway and Chambers Street in Lower Manhattan.
It’s the oldest and largest known excavated burial ground in North America for both free and enslaved Americans.
Meanwhile, in Perth Amboy, Senator Cory Booker was on hand at the New Jersey Institute of Social Justice as it announced plans to form a reparations council.
The press conference happened at the site where the first boats of enslaved Americans docked in New Jersey.
“This is not a radical concept, in fact others have done it around the country, from Florida to California they have done research and found out specific cases, once they did the research, formed a commission, looked at the issues and found wait a minute, here is the family that was stolen land, we saw this recently in shorefront property in California, let us make restitution, let us repair the damage that was done,” Senator Booker said.
Senator Booker was one of the senators that made Juneteenth a national holiday.
On Sunday, an outdoor celebration for Juneteenth took place in Times Square.
WATCH: Dads celebrate Juneteenth and Father’s Day with their children in Brooklyn
The event featured songs, dances, and spoken word by more than 25 performers from hit Broadway shows like “Chicago,” “A Beautiful Noise,” and “Sweeney Todd” to name a few.
Juneteenth, June 19, 1865, marks the day emancipated slaves in Galveston, Texas, finally found out they were free, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
“When I think about Juneteenth, I think about the resilience and the strength of Black folks,” said Michael James Scott, Broadway actor and singer. “And my ancestors who fought for me to be able to be a host today as I’m standing here. So I’m the dream of those ancestors.”
In Central Park, people came together Sunday to remember Seneca Village, an all-Black community in the park back in the 1850s made up of emancipated slaves.
In Prospect Park, Juneteenth NYC, the organizer of the event teamed up with the CEO of “The Dad Gang.”
The Dad Gang aims to redefine the narrative of Black fatherhood.
“We lead our families so to move and be free and to celebrate our freedom, to celebrate our fatherhood it means everything to us, and we need to make a point for people to see us doing that in real-time,” said Sean Williams, The Dad Gang.
RELATED: Opal Lee, ‘grandmother of Juneteenth,’ featured in WABC-TV special on the holiday
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