Juneteenth

The bus wrap highlights the Illinois River and the architecture found in Peoria

New CityLink bus wrap celebrates Black culture and diversity in Peoria

Jody Holtz

In honor of Juneteenth, a CityLink bus sporting a new wrap celebrating diversity and Black culture in Peoria will soon be driving around the River City.

Arts & Culture

The Contemporary Art Center of Peoria Celebrates Juneteenth

Daniel Musisi

On this episode of Out and About, producer Daniel Musisi sits in for host Jenn Gordon and is joined by Contemporary Art Center of Peoria executive director William Butler to discuss its Juneteenth Celebration.

FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2005 file photo, the original Emancipation Proclamation is displayed in the Rotunda of the National Archives building in Washington. The historic document, which was issued by President Abraham Lincoln and declared all slaves "forever free," will be shown at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich., around the clock over a three-day period free of charge beginning on Monday, June 20, 2011. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Local News

Four Pekin Men Were At The First Juneteenth. One Was The First Freed From Slavery By Lincoln

Tim Shelley

Juneteenth is a celebration of the abolition of slavery in the United States. It was on June 19, 1865 when the news of the Emancipation Proclamation finally spread to Galveston, Texas in the old Confederacy.

Gov. JB Pritzker signs a bill making Juneteenth, June 19th, a paid state holiday.

State News

Juneteenth Becomes Official State Holiday

Peter Hancock

The day that marks the anniversary of the day in 1865 when some of the last enslaved Americans learned that they had been freed is now an official state holiday in Illinois.