Live Oak High School Class of 2024 graduates celebrate Wednesday night, June 5, 2024. Photo: AUSD
By Antioch Unified School District
The crowd was loud and proud as the seniors from Live Oak High – Home of the Pegasus – walked the stage on Wednesday night, June 5, 2024,
Held in Antioch High’s Beede Auditorium, the 78 graduates were joyfully applauded as they received their diplomas. Several were also awarded scholarships.
Cheers to them all!
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The Bidwell High School Class of 2024 graduated on Tuesday night, June 4, 2024. Photo source: AUSD by Aly Necor, 2024 Deer Valley graduate
The joyfulness was at its highest-level during Bidwell High’s graduation.
Held on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, in Deer Valley’s theater, the nearly 75 seniors proudly received their diplomas while family and friends cheered. Several of them received special scholarships.
Wishing these hard-working Bulldogs the best on their next adventure.
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The Prospects High School and Antioch Adult Education Class of 2024 graduated Tuesday, June 4, 2024. Photo: AUSD
It was a celebratory night as students were loudly cheered during the graduation for Prospects High – home of the Hawks – and Antioch Adult Education – The Anchor to Lifelong Learning.
Held at Antioch High’s Beede Auditorium on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, several stand-out students also received scholarships.
Wishing these graduates the very best!
See more photos of each school’s graduation and celebration on the AUSD Facebook page.
The Herald congratulates all the graduates. May God bless each of you in your future!
Victory Outreach Antioch presents Unleashed, A Community and Family Event on Saturday, June 22, 2024. Enjoy a custom car show, free haircuts, live hip hop music concert featuring artist EGR and a food giveaway. The event will be held at Antioch City Park on the corner of A and W. 10th Streets from 1:00-5:00 p.m.
Enjoy live music from headliners The Main Ingredient and Slave
This year’s Juneteenth Celebration presented by Grace Arms of Antioch will be held on Saturday, June 15, 2024 and feature a Kids Corner, food, games, vendors and live music with headliners The Main Ingredient and Slave.
Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. Though the Emancipation Proclamation was given by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, the beginning of the end of slavery wouldn’t be recognized until sometime later – June 19, 1865.
Early celebrations date back to 1866, at first involving church-centered community gatherings in Texas. They spread across the South amongst newly freed African American slaves and their descendants and became more commercialized in the 1920s and 1930s, often centering on a food festival. Participants in the Great Migration brought these celebrations to the rest of the country.
The day was recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. Juneteenth became the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was adopted in 1983.
Start of Juneteenth Celebration
When the American Civil War ended, the Union Army arrived in Texas led by Major General Gordon Granger who was given command of the District of Texas on June 10, 1865. On June 19, in the city of Galveston, one of the first orders of business was to post Granger’s General Order No. 3 to inform a reluctant community that President Lincoln over two years earlier had freed the slaves and to press locals to comply with his directive. His order began with:
“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection therefore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.”
This set off joyous demonstrations by the freed people, originating the annual Juneteenth celebration, which commemorates the abolition of slavery in Texas. The celebration’s name is a blend of the words “June” and “nineteenth”.
Why did it take so long for the news to get to Texas?
There is no one reason why there was a two-and-a-half-year delay in letting Texas know about the abolition of slavery in the United States, according to Juneteenth.com. The historical site said some accounts place the delay on a messenger who was murdered on his way to Texas with the news, while others say the news was deliberately withheld.
Due to the delay, slavery did not end in Texas overnight, according to an article by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. originally posted on The Root. Gates said after New Orleans fell, many slavers traveled to Texas with their slaves to escape regulations enforced by the Union Army in other states.
Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe invites the public to join him for the first Antioch Salutes Ceremony that honors high school graduates who have chosen to serve our nation in the United States Armed Forces and become part of the 1% of Americans who serve in military uniform.
The ceremony will include entertainment and refreshments. Several elected city officials, military officers and Armed Forces veterans will be in attendance.
Student enlistees will be sworn in, receive a special Certificate of Commendation from the mayor and a special Thank You for their service to the nation.
The event will be held at Noon on Saturday, June 8, 2024, at 101 Waldie Plaza across from City Hall in Antioch’s historic, downtown Rivertown. To register for the free event visit Antioch SALUTES Tickets on Eventbrite.
For Antioch residents or AUSD students; deadline Aug. 30
The YOCH Internship program is designed for teens ages 12-15 and is a unique opportunity offering a chance to engage in meaningful work while gaining valuable skills and experiences. Some participants may even qualify for a stipend based on their age, making it both rewarding and financially beneficial.
At present, our internship focuses on tutoring younger Antioch youth in Math & Reading, serving as mentors and role models to support academic growth. To ensure the success of this initiative, applicants must have a GPA of 2.9 or higher when applying for the internship. This program is open to both AUSD students and Antioch residents, providing a platform for local youth to make a positive impact in their community while furthering their own educational development.
32nd annual event brings communities together outdoors to celebrate and give back to trails
Take the 2024 National Trails Day® Pledge by June 8 to be entered to win premium gear prize packs.
East Bay Regional Park District offers variety of trails to hike
By American Hiking Society
The nationwide celebration of National Trails Day® on Saturday June 1, 2024, will bring together people from across the country, Puerto Rico, and beyond, to celebrate, enjoy, and give back to the trails. American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day®, is an annual event aimed at advocacy, trail service, and encouraging local communities to connect in the outdoors.
Trail users, including hikers, cyclists, horseback riders, paddlers, trail clubs, federal and local agencies, and various organizations, unite on National Trails Day® to improve the trails and outdoor community. This is accomplished through collective efforts toward advocating for, maintaining, cleaning up, and celebrating trails and nature. By working together, this diverse coalition can ensure that these outdoor spaces remain accessible, safe, and enjoyable for everyone now and in the future.
Source: American Hiking Society
National Trails Day® is an event that people of all ages, abilities, and lifestyles can celebrate by participating in a local trail event. Participants can also take the National Trails Day® pledge to commit to leaving the trails and the outdoor community better than they found them. Additionally, individuals can share their trail experience by tagging #NationalTrailsDay and @AmericanHiking on social media.
Last year, more than 700 sites across the U.S. brought people together for various recreational and volunteer opportunities. More than 7,044 trail volunteers built and maintained more than 558 miles of trails as part of the festivities.
The East Bay Regional Park District offers multiple trails to hike this Saturday. See list, locations and maps, here: www.ebparks.org/trails.
“National Trails Day® provides a unique opportunity to bring community members of all walks of life together in the outdoors, all with a common goal of enjoying nature and preserving it,” said Heather Klein Olson, Executive Director of American Hiking Society. “This is our 32nd annual celebration of National Trails Day®, and it’s incredible to see how the trails unite us and remind us of the power of our collective action and passion. Spending time on the trails offers us time to reflect on nature’s positive impact on our physical and mental well-being and the positive impact we can have on it, too. This annual event reminds us to appreciate the beauty of the great outdoors and commit to doing our part to protect it for generations to come.”
2024 National Trails Day® Pledge
“In honor of #NationalTrailsDay, I’ll leave the trails and the outdoor community better than I found them.” Take the pledge by June 8 to be entered to win premium gear prize packs.
Corporate & Federal Sponsors
American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day® is made possible by the generous support of Corporate Sponsors – Exclusive Beer Sponsor Athletic Brewing, Aflac, AKHG by Duluth Trading Company, REI, Osprey Packs, Fjallraven, GORE-TEX Brand, Zevo Insect, and GOES Health. Federal Partners include: National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau Of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Federal Highway Administration.
Founded in 1976, American Hiking Society is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering all to enjoy, share and preserve the hiking experience.
