Former President Joe Biden to attend Juneteenth celebration in Galveston

GALVESTON, Texas – Former President Joe Biden will be in Galveston Thursday as a dignitary for a Juneteenth event.

Galveston County Sheriff Jimmy Fullen confirmed to KPRC 2’s Bill Barajas that the Galveston Police Department has requested assistance from the sheriff’s office to assist with the dignitaries that includes Joe Biden.

“Galveston Police Department has formally requested our assistance to assist with the dignitaries that include Joe Biden,” Sheriff Fullen said.

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Sources tell KPRC 2 that the former president will be attending the Juneteenth Celebration at the Reedy Chapel.

The visit comes about a month after Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.

Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865—the day enslaved people in Galveston Bay, Texas and across The Lone Star State learned they had been freed, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. It is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the U.S. and was officially declared a federal holiday in 2021.