President Joe Biden will celebrate the Juneteenth holiday early on Monday with a concert featuring singers including Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle on the White House South Lawn.
The Democratic president signed legislation in 2021 establishing June 19, commonly known as Juneteenth, as a federal holiday, to commemorate the day in 1865 when the last slaves in the United States found themselves free, more than two years after then-President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed Confederate slaves during the Civil War.
For generations, black Americans have celebrated Juneteenth, which marks the date when the Declaration of Independence was signed in Texas and the end of the Civil War with a Union victory.
Others scheduled to appear at the White House event included singer and songwriter Raheem DeVaughn, gospel singer Kirk Franklin, rapper Doug E. Fresh, singer and songwriter Anthony Hamilton, singer and actress Patina Miller, country singer and songwriter Britney Spencer, jazz musician Trombone Shorty, singer and songwriter Charlie Wilson and comedian and actor Roy Wood Jr.
The concert comes as this year's presidential election heats up, with black voters sure to play a key role. Biden won 91% of black voters in 2020, according to AP VoteCast. Republican front-runner, former President Donald Trump, has argued that more black voters are starting to vote for him.
Black Americans have consistently voted Democrat, but small shifts in political allegiance or low voter turnout in key states could affect who wins the November election.
