In place of a parade and large celebration, Elginites gathered on Friday morning to celebrate Juneteenth with speeches and prayer. Juneteenth is a holiday celebrating the effects of the Emancipation Proclamation reaching Texas when Union general Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston on June 19, 1865, freeing Texas slaves two years after the proclamation was first issued. Last weekend would have been Elgin’s 21st Juneteenth Celebration, but the parade and celebration were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, community leaders put together a program of prayer and celebration of Juneteenth at the lot in front of the police station. Elgin NAACP chapter ...