Photos: Soul of the Southside Juneteenth celebration in south Minneapolis

South Minneapolis celebrated the Juneteenth holiday on Wednesday with its Soul of the Southside festival on Lake Street.

Juneteenth became a national holiday in 2021. In February 2023, Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill making Minnesota the 26th state to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday.

Juneteenth — celebrated on June 19 — has been celebrated by Black Americans for decades. It marks the day the final enslaved African Americans learned they were free, a month after the American Civil War officially ended. 

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