Some Michigan lawmakers gathered in Ypsilanti this afternoon to unveil a monument to the state's Black Civil War veterans.
A crowd of lawmakers, veterans, and community members braved the 85-degree heat at Highland Cemetery in Ypsilanti to unveil a memorial for the Black veterans buried there.
Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist says it was important for him to attend. "You know? Ypsilanti is—has been a center of military service and the proportion of Black soldiers that served from Ypsilanti in the Civil War is really extraordinary so to have an additional recognition of that here on Juneteenth is really special," he says.
This is the first year Michigan recognized Juneteenth as a state holiday.