NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) —Black Lives Matter Nashville is taking part in a national movement for Juneteenth weekend.
A March for Justice is slated for 5 p.m. Friday at Legislative Plaza.
It kicks off a weekend of action focusing on three demands: defund the police, invest in Black communities and for Donald Trump to resign.
Juneteenth is celebrated annually on June 19 and commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. It's been celebrated for over a century and traces back to 1865 in Galveston, Texas when Major Granger announced that "all slaves are free" - two and a half years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
Meanwhile, Rep. Antonio Parkinton (D-Memphis) and Sen. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) introduced the bill, HB1626/SB1829, back in January. It seeks to make Juneteenth a legal holiday in Tennessee.
In 1979, Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth an official holiday.
Learn more about Juneteenth and celebrations in Tennessee here.