photo by: Ashley Golledge

Event organizer Trinity Carpenter is pictured at the Black Summer Juneteenth Event at Watson Park on Saturday, June 19, 2021.

Black Summer organized a gathering at Watson Park on Saturday to celebrate Juneteenth, including games, free food and a panel discussion about some of the obstacles Black people face in the criminal justice system, among other activities, as the Journal-World previously reported. The event is scheduled to continue through 9 p.m. at the park, 727 Kentucky St.

Also called Emancipation Day, Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865 — the day that Union Army Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, and told slaves of their emancipation.

photo by: Ashley Golledge

JoeLarry Hunter participates in the Black Summer Juneteenth Event at Watson Park on Saturday, June 19, 2021.

photo by: Ashley Golledge

Ruaa Hassaballa-Muhammad, COVID testing equity project manager at Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, administers COVID-19 testing at the Black Summer Juneteenth Event at Watson Park on Saturday, June 19, 2021.

photo by: Ashley Golledge

Avery Beck and 10-month-old Leif Boateng attend the Black Summer Juneteenth Event at Watson Park on Saturday, June 19, 2021.

photo by: Ashley Golledge

Lawrence City Manager Craig Owens attends the Black Summer Juneteenth Event at Watson Park on Saturday, June 19, 2021.

photo by: Ashley Golledge

Alfred Coleman, left, and Nicki Carter chat at the Black Summer Juneteenth Event at Watson Park on Saturday, June 19, 2021.

photo by: Ashley Golledge

Two-year-old Aryaha Lewis is pictured at the Black Summer Juneteenth Event at Watson Park on Saturday, June 19, 2021.

photo by: Ashley Golledge

Celka Straughn, of the Spencer Museum of Art, rolls a T-shirt at the Black Summer Juneteenth Event at Watson Park on Saturday, June 19, 2021.

photo by: Ashley Golledge

Shine Adams paints a canvas at the Black Summer Juneteenth Event at Watson Park on Saturday, June 19, 2021.

photo by: Ashley Golledge

Children play in a bounce house at the Black Summer Juneteenth Event at Watson Park on Saturday, June 19, 2021.