Where to find Juneteenth events around central Arkansas Arkansans are finding ways to combine the tragic history with the celebration of true freedom with events, festivals, and lessons. Author: THV11 Digital Updated: 7:05 PM CDT June 16, 2021 ARKANSAS, USA — With Juneteenth becoming a national holiday 142 years after the last group of enslaved African Americans were told of The Emancipation Proclamation in America, Arkansans are finding ways to combine the tragic history with the celebration of true freedom. Brian Rodgers with the Mosaic Templars Culture Center explained that Jubilee is what Arkansans use to celebrate their ancestors' freedom as far back as the 1880s.