By admin 
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The North Carolina Executive Mansion joined the Juneteenth celebrations across the country Friday.
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Gov. Josh Stein invited the public to attend a Juneteenth celebration at the executive mansion on North Blount Street in Raleigh.
The mansion provided hot dogs and heavy hors d’oeuvres for guests, while meals and treats were available for purchase on North Blount Street and East Jones Street. Some were sold by local Black-owned food trucks.
Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans at the end of the American Civil War in 1865.
To recognize the holiday, Stein signed a proclamation commending the observance of Juneteenth to all North Carolina residents.
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The governor also issued a statement commemorating Juneteenth.
“Juneteenth celebrates freedom,” Stein said in his statement. “It is a powerful reminder of our history, resilience, and progress, as well as our ongoing pursuit of justice.
“One hundred sixty-one years ago, on June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that the Civil War had ended and that slavery had been abolished through the Emancipation Proclamation,” he continued in his statement.
“We remember President Lincoln’s immortal words in the Gettysburg Address calling for a government of the people, by the people, and for the people — and that it has been ordinary people working to deliver on that promise throughout our history for the past 250 years.
“The work of pushing our nation toward its founding promises falls afresh to each generation, and today that responsibility is ours,” the governor said in his statement. “Let us recommit ourselves to fighting inequality and ensuring justice and opportunity for all. That is how we can build a North Carolina that is safer, stronger, and more prosperous with opportunity for everyone.”
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