KILGORE, Texas (KLTV) - Juneteenth celebrations are underway in Kilgore, where the Kilgore Men and Women organization hosted its third annual community festival Thursday at Kilgore City Park.

The evening featured vendors, lawn chairs, music and dancing-all centered on what organizers called a message of unity and gratitude as the community came together to celebrate freedom.

Founder Victor Boyd, with the Kilgore Men and Women of Alliance, said he started the annual event three years ago with the goal of bringing people together from all backgrounds."What we wanted to do was just bring together people of every nationality, anyone who believed that slavery was wrong, who wants to come and celebrate the freedom of the black Americans from 1865 here in Texas to now," Boyd said.