Today is Juneteenth, which became the newest U.S. holiday after passing Congress with near-unanimous consent in June 2021.

The holiday celebrates the arrival of federal troops in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, when it was announced that “in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”

Betty Sawyer, the Ogden NAACP president and an organizer of Utah’s Juneteenth Freedom & Heritage Festival, now in its 34th year, spoke to the Deseret News about the significance of the festival, its history and her hopes for the future of Utah.

Here are some highlights: 

• Is Juneteenth a celebration of freedom? Is it a mourning of slavery? Is it a combination of both? "For us, we look at it as the celebration of freedom, a celebration of family, a celebration of resilience for people of African descent in this country, and a celebration of our hopes for the future. We also take time, in the celebration of those things, to stop and have a reflection on healing and reconciliation."

• Your coalition’s motto is “Keeping hope alive.” What is your hope for the future of our state? "One of my basic hopes is that we grab this opportunity to be a model for other places on how to do diversity, equity, inclusion and fairness, the right way. ... 

  That’s my dream, that we spend less time denying that there’s an issue. Denying that racism exists, because we know it does. Denying the history of this country, when we know what it is. We’re spending time grappling over stuff that should be nonissues, versus working on the things that we need to work on, and that we can work hard to make things better."

More on Juneteenth  

• Rev. Theresa Dear: The meaning of Juneteenth (Deseret News)
• The long emancipation (Deseret News)

Parleys Canyon is not the place for a quarry

As the Wasatch Front quickly grows outwards, plans for a limestone quarry in Parley's Canyon are starting to dig in. 

To some extent, this can’t be avoided — new homes and roads need rock aggregate products — but the effect of quarry projects on the environment should be mitigated and controlled to avoid damaging the community's reputation for natural beauty, the Deseret News Editorial Board writes. 

And the proposed quarry up Parley's is one that raises too many concerns.

Any marring of the mountains east of the city should be avoided, especially near an entrance to the Salt Lake Valley, the editorial board argues, citing concerns that the proposed mine could produce dust that might be carried down into the valley and might spoil Utah's bid to host the Winter Olympics in 2030 or 2034.  

Read more about the project and the legal process that awaits before a final decision is made. 

FROM OUR SPONSOR JON M. HUNTSMAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

What Does it Mean to Dare Mighty Things?

Dare Mighty Things: (v) the act of courageously attempting to do big and audacious things that make you uncomfortable, that stretch you, and allow you to grow, even as you experience failure and doubt along the way. Daring Mighty in little and big things is not an act but a habit toward excellence.

Health

• How will Utah spend its opioid settlement funds? (KSL)
• International Rights Group Calls Out US for Allowing Hospitals to Push Millions Into Debt (KFF Health News)

Faith

• Can food be holy? What different religions believe about food and fasting (Deseret News)
• Another longtime Latter-day Saint tradition ends at temple dedications (Salt Lake Tribune 🔒)

Salt Lake County

• New from Nintendo: Tears of the Kingdom success and a tour stop in Salt Lake City (Deseret News)
  
• Mystery surrounds car found submerged in Jordan River (FOX 13)

Davis and Utah Counties

• 'An act of love': Utah decorated veteran, injured in Afghanistan, receives free car (KSL)
  
• Salt Lake man not lovin' it is arrested at Provo McDonald's (KSL)

The West

• Idaho potato packing operation receives $19.6M in federal funding to increase production (Idaho Capital Sun)
  
• Crews recover body of 33-year-old man who fell off Grand Canyon Skywalk in Arizona (Arizona Republic)

The Nation

• Nation’s breadbasket to produce worst wheat harvest in 60-plus years due to severe drought (Wall Street Journal 🔒)
  
• Tennessee Air National Guardsman applied to be a hitman online, the FBI says. It was a spoof website and now he’s facing charges (CNN)

The World

• Airfare prices to Europe are at 5-year high from the US, but Americans are going anyway (Deseret News)
• ‘A Terrible Tragedy’: Uganda Reels From Deadly Terrorist Attack (New York Times 🔒)

Sports

• Seeking peace and a fresh start, Georgia Tech transfer guard Deivon Smith lands with the Utah Runnin’ Utes (Deseret News)
• Pablo Ruiz's stunning shot helps Real Salt Lake top D.C. United (ESPN)

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