LYNNWOOD—Project Girl hosted its third annual Juneteenth Freedom Festival at Cedar Valley Community School in Lynnwood on Thursday, June 19, to commemorate the day the last remaining people in the United States were freed from the evil of slavery and servitude.
“I think our community is starting to support us now,” said Olympia Edwards, Founder of Project Girl Mentoring Program and Lynnwood Times’ 2022 Person of the Year. It’s such a beautiful event. Everyone’s just having a great time. And really that’s what it’s about. I’m walking around seeing all the families, seeing the kids playing ball, seeing people hanging out on the lawn. You want people to feel safe. You want people to feel comfortable. And for me, that’s what Juneteenth is about. It’s like being able to provide a space where people just feel loved.”
Edwards shared with the Lynnwood Times that after Juneteenth she is gearing up for Project Girls’ Summer Immersion Lab where scores of young women of color will take hikes, go on tours, and immerse themselves in confidence building and health habits for the summer starting July 7. She continues her heroic efforts in passing to the next generation of young woman of color how they can be seen, loved, and supported by the community.
Speaking at the Juneteenth event was Lynnwood Mayor Christine Frizzell who emphasized the importance of honoring Black American heritage while fostering an inclusive community in the city where everyone feels valued and welcomed.
“As mayor, I promise to continue to advocate and lift up our BIPOC communities, to help amplify your voices,” said Mayor Frizzell to attendees.
Four Lynnwood Councilmembers—Josh Binda, Goerge Hurst, Derica Escamilla, and David Parshall—each read portions of the city’s Juneteenth Proclamation. Mountlake Terrace Councilman Steve Woodard was also in attendance.
“We’re in an atmosphere where some people are concerned about how things are going federally,” Councilman Hurst told the Lynnwood Times when asked about the importance of recognizing Juneteenth. “But Juneteenth really celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S. as far as the Confederacy. We did have to pass the 13th Amendment to end slavery, but then 100 years later, we still had to have the Civil Rights Act. So, I have confidence that in America, we do eventually get it right. It just takes a long time sometimes. And so, Juneteenth is really a reminder that we just need to keep working on and keep focused on making America a great place for everyone.”
“It’s a wonderful celebration here in Lynnwood,” Mukilteo City Councilman Mike Dixon told the Lynnwood Times. “This is terrific. I’m so happy to see so many people coming out and enjoying themselves. Really wonderful community event. I hope that we can do something like it in Mukilteo.”
Lynnwood City Councilman Robert Leutwyler who originally lived just minutes from Galveston, Texas, where Major General Gordon Granger back in 1865 first shared the news with then-slaves that they were free, shared with the Lynnwood Times his appreciation to Edwards and community partners for hosting Juneteenth as they do back in Texas.
“I think Juneteenth is something that should be a celebration that brings everyone together,” said Leutwyler. “I think we should all find pride in what we did in the past and then look at all the work that we still need to do together. So I’m just glad that we’ve got this opportunity and we’ve got so much community that came out for it!”
The 2025 Freedom Festival offered family-friendly fun featuring:
- Local Performers & Cultural Expressions
- Interactive Youth Activities
- Kids Face Painting
- Kids Soccer Demo
- Black-Owned Small Business Vendors
- Community Resource Booths
- Food Trucks and Music
Sponsors for Lynnwood’s Juneteenth celebration were:
- Project Girl Mentoring Program
- City of Lynnwood
- RAW Aesthetics and Wellness Med Spa
- Sno-Isle Libraries
- Verdant Health Commission
- Edmonds School District
- Verdant Health Commission
- Wellpoint
- Sea Mar Community Health Centers
- Community Transit
- Sound Sports Performance and Training LLC
- Manora Marketing
This is the fifth year Juneteenth has been recognized as a federal holiday and the fourth time Juneteenth has been recognized as a state holiday in Washington, following State Rep. Melanie Morgan sponsoring of House Bill 1016 which went into effect in 2022.
2025 marks 160 years since the news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached the deepest parts of the former confederacy. Black Americans have been celebrating Juneteenth for generations, but the first recorded celebration of Juneteenth in the Pacific Northwest was in Kent, Washington, in 1890.
Juneteenth dates to 1865 when, on June 19, Union soldiers led by Major General Gordon Granger arrived at Galveston, Texas with news of the end of the Civil War and that the slaves were free known as General Order Number 3. This news was two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, which didn’t impact Texas since there were very few Union soldiers to enforce the proclamation.
General Order Number 3, reads as follows:
The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property, between former masters and slaves and the connection heretofore existing between them, becomes that between employer and hired labor. The Freedmen are advised to remain at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts; and they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.
The surrender of General Lee in April of 1865 coupled with the arrival of Granger and his regiment finally provided the influence necessary to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation.
Juneteenth became a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, and the first known official movement to make Juneteenth a federal holiday began in 1994. All 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia recognize Juneteenth either as a state holiday, a ceremonial holiday, or a day of observance.
Author: Mario Lotmore
