America marks Juneteenth as protests bring new attention

JONATHAN MATTISE, PHIL MARCELO and MICHELLE R. SMITH Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A traditional day of celebration turned into one of protest Friday, as Americans marked Juneteenth, a holiday that long commemorated the emancipation of enslaved African Americans but that burst into the national conversation this year after widespread demonstrations against police brutality and racism. In addition to the traditional cookouts and readings of the Emancipation Proclamation — the Civil War-era order that declared all slaves free in Confederate territory — Americans were marching, holding sit-ins or car caravan protests. In Nashville, Tennessee, about two dozen black men, most wearing suits, quietly stood arm in arm Friday morning in front of the city's criminal courts. Beh