WARREN, Ohio - Juneteenth—the name given to June 19, 1865, when slaves in Texas were notified that they were finally free—two years after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

They were the last group to find out.

In that respect, it is a celebration of Black History, but in the wake of nationwide protests against the recent killings of black men by police, tomorrow’s observance is likely to be somber, not celebratory.

“It all goes back to a conversation about race, and I mean systemic racism,” said Thomas Conley, president and chief executive officer of the Warren Trumbull Urban League. “It’s not just about Black Lives Matter. It’s bigger than that.”

“I can’t say it’s a celebration,” said Annette McCoy, president of the Warren-Trumbull NAACP. “After 155 years, we’re still not free.”

The recent deaths of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks and Ahmaud Arbery, all unarmed, brought the ascendancy of the Black Lives Matter movement and coast-to-coast demonstrations.

Criminal charges have been filed against the fired police officers responsible for their deaths, but Conley said the protests are not about to end until the “systemic racism” that caused them does.

McCoy’s view: “The only thing I would correlate (with Juneteenth) is that we haven’t come that far.”

McCoy said acceptance of equality has been impacted by Christianity’s prohibition of one human being owning another.

“We were never considered in the human race,” she told 21 News. “We are still engulfed in slavery because people don’t see us as a whole or as a person.”

“It’s not by coincidence all of this is happening,” Conley explained. “When it comes to race, it is black (people) who have experienced racism (and) have the stories to tell.”

Conley certainly has one. In 2004, the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation into the Warren Police Department after Conley complained about illegal stops and searches of African Americans.

In 2012, the DOJ agreed with Conley and found “reasonable cause to believe the WPD engages in a pattern or practice of excessive force.”

The DOJ, in a settlement with Warren Police, ordered “new use of force policies and protocols.”

Conley, however, does not want the focus on Juneteenth to be solely on police and the black community.

“What give me hope is that we are persevering and making gains, but there is so much more to be done,” he said.

McCoy said Juneteenth will be observed by the NAACP in a series of webinars.

More information is available on the Warren Trumbull NAACP Facebook page.