Celebrate Freedom: Chester Township hosts its First Annual Juneteenth Luncheon

On Friday, June 12, 2026, the Township held its 1st Annual Juneteenth Luncheon for seniors.

- Lorraine Lavender-Sams

Every member of Council and the Township Manager joined the seniors, sharing a sumptuous meal of Italian cuisine, catered by the Olive Garden, and served by the Township’s employees.

“The importance of Juneteenth celebrations cannot be ignored or looked at as just another holiday because it is not; it goes beyond just the remembrance of June 19, 1865... it’s the essence of what a nation did to erase the cultural history, religion, and very existence of a people that they’d enslaved for two hundred forty-six years, freed two years prior by the Emancipation Proclamation, and failed to inform them, to continue to perpetuate their bondage,” said Chester Township Council President Calvin Bernard.