New Britain officially marks the Juneteenth national holiday with a festival at Central Park from 5-8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 19.
It’s a good day to remember what the Civil War was fought for and that New Britain abolitionists were part of the anti-slavery movement at that time.
Some New Britain history to remember on Juneteenth as the city commemorates the end of slavery in Texas well after the Emancipation Proclamation: “In the 1840s and ’50s, New Britain was an important center of anti-slavery activity. Fugitive slaves who entered the state in Stamford, New Haven, and Old Lyme worked their way through New Britain, Farmington, and Middletown on their way to Canada. Of the 22 identified Underground Railroad agents in Hartford County at this time, nine were residents of New Britain. As the two sides of the slavery issue continued sparring, The First Church in New Britain passed anti-slavery resolutions, abolitionists and non-abolitionists clashed at local anti-slavery meetings, and non-abolitionists set fire to barns belonging to New Britain abolitionists.” from connecticuthistory.org
New Britain Alderman John McNamara 