COVINGTON, Ga. - The Newton County Historical Committee on Black Heritage Preservation held its Juneteenth Parade around the Covington square Saturday. 

According to juneteenth.com, Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.  Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19 that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free.