"It's about unity, it's about bringing people together, it's about being on one accord," said Athenia Rodney, hoping the kids participating in the annual Juneteenth Festival that she's organized for the past 12 years understand the day's significance.

"It is a day of celebration. It is a day that we celebrate the emancipation of slavery for those who were in Galveston, Texas who were the last to find out about it," said Rodney.

The news came two and a half years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. This year, Rodney's event will take over Herbert Von King Park in Bedford Stuyvesant having grown from humble beginnings as part of a multifaceted movement that helped expand cultural awareness of an important but little recognized part of black history.

"I didn't know about Juneteenth growing up so it wasn't until I went to college that I was able to learn more about Juneteenth and Kwanzaa" said Rodney, "and I wanted to bring it back to New York."

"Its amazing that we get to 2021 and we're finally recognizing the importance of Juneteenth," said Jamel Gaines.

Rodney and her partner, Gaines, have been crafting programming and performances with a purpose.

"What we want to do is educate, use the performing and cultural arts to educate and teach," said Gaines.

Juneteenth will now be recognized nationally. This is the first commemoration of the day since the social unrest of 2020.

"This year with it becoming a federal holiday being put on the desk of the president to be signed, I'm excited - I'm like wow, this is really amazing," said Rodney. 

But, while recognizing the progress, Rodney says there's still a long way to go in the years to come in honoring Juneteenth's significance.

"More than likely, there'll be a day off from work and we're hoping that that day can be day when people can join us and learn a little more about the culture, about the history," Rodney said.