As people gathered to celebrate Juneteenth at events across the U.S., former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama welcomed the first visitors to his presidential center. A million visitors a year are expected to come together at the sprawling campus honoring the nation’s first Black president. The center’s grand opening arrives as a symbolic convergence of legacy and liberation in this fifth year since June 19 became a federal holiday. This year's Juneteenth events, held to celebrate the end of slavery, come during deep political divisions as the nation grapples with renewed questions about the arc of racial progress.
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One of the few Black-owned banks in the U.S. is introducing a debit card aimed at helping single mothers who live in government subsidized housing escape poverty. The Bank King Card debit card will be offered beginning Friday in honor of Juneteenth by Redemption Bank, which will make a donation from every account opened to nonprofits that will steer the funding to needy families. Redemption Holding Co. chair and Chief Executive Ashley Bell says the program opens “America’s vaults of opportunity that have been closed to too many for too long.” A 2026 report by the Urban Institute and the Jeremiah Program says households led by single mothers experience widespread economic and caregiving hardship.
World shares are mixed, with markets in Greater China closed for holidays. U.S. futures declined as optimism over the U.S.-Iran deal to end their war was dimmed by the postponement of high-stakes talks on reopening negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program and getting oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz. Sentiment has also been hit by expectations that central banks including the Federal Reserve will keep raising interest rates to try to curb inflation. On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 1.1% and the Dow industrials added 0.1%. The Nasdaq composite jumped 1.9%. U.S. markets will be closed Friday for Juneteenth.
Today is Friday, June 19, the 170th day of 2026. There are 195 days left in the year. This is Juneteenth.
AP Wire
Former President Barack Obama formally opened his presidential center in Chicago on Thursday with a call to defend democracy. He and Michelle Obama spoke as three other former presidents and their first ladies joined the Obama family on stage in an extraordinary event featuring politicians, A-list celebrities, athletes and other internationally known figures. Obama voiced his support for character, honesty, integrity, kindness, compassion and sense of duty, praising both Democrats and Republicans for their values. President Donald Trump was conspicuous both in his physical absence and by not being mentioned by any of the speakers or performers. Stevie Wonder closed the show with a rousing rendition of “Higher Ground."
Former President Barack Obama’s influence in his presidential museum runs deep, from the Chicago location to the textured stone adorning its dramatic tower, art installations and a striped reading chairs that resemble ones in his own home. The Obama Presidential Center opens to the general public on Juneteenth after a celebratory dedication in Chicago with dignitaries. But tens of thousands of people, including students and journalists, have already been offered a sneak peek as crews finish final art installations and landscaping. The roughly $850 million project covers the political and personal realms of the nation’s first Black president.
Organizers said the turnout for Wednesday's event was huge, with more people than they expected showing up.
Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, commemorates the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to order freedom for the enslaved people of the state — two months after the Confederacy had surrendered in the Civil War.
Louisville Central Community Centers Inc. is hosting its seventh annual Dr. Ralph De Chabert Trustees of Inclusive Equity Award ceremony Wednesday evening.
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More than 100 black-owned businesses and vendors were set up to show off their best products.