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Lincolnville community celebrates its history on Juneteenth

The St. Augustine neighborhood is a focal point for Black history.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Lincolnville is a St. Augustine community with a rich history.

Vendors and performers came out to the neighborhood to celebrate Juneteenth, a federal holiday celebrating the emancipation of slaves.

"Juneteenth is the celebration of freedom," said Vicky Spence, who was running a booth at the event. "For us, it's the freedom of speech and expression."

Spence and her sister Isabella have used that freedom of expression to encourage other girls to get involved in STEM.

The sisters wrote a book together, Bella the Scientist goes to Outer Space.

"We're showing our book that has two black girls in the front, and we're encouraging other kids to go to outer space, join the STEM field, and be who they want to be," said Spence.

The Spence sisters were one of dozens of vendors who came to the historic Lincolnville neighborhood to celebrate Juneteenth.

"Just freedom period," said Vendor Korine Teamer. "Generational type freedom. That's why we started businesses so we have a legacy we can leave our kids."

The pastor of a nearby church made the lot available for the party, acknowledging Lincolnville is a fitting place for a Juneteenth celebration.

It was founded by newly freed slaves in 1866 and named after Abraham Lincoln.

The St. Augustine neighborhood hosted Martin Luther King Jr. in 1964 as he led a march toward the plaza in downtown.

"It is unfortunate that most people don't understand the history of St. Paul and the Lincolnville community," said St. Paul AME Church Pastor Alesia Ford-Burse. "Martin Luther King, when he left here, he was able to demonstrate and show the world the immense amount of racism in St. Augustine. It impacted the civil rights act of 1964."

Pastor Ford-Burse is glad Juneteenth is a federal holiday now so it helps spread awareness and may cement the Lincolnville celebration as an annual tradition.

"It's all races, all nations, all ages coming together to celebrate our rich heritage and history in this country," said Ford-Burse.

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