Dozens gathered in Roxbury on Monday for a joyful annual Juneteenth parade through the neighborhood and the following Boston Juneteenth Emancipation Observance, scored through the day with an array of music and waving flags emblazoned with bursting stars.

“We’re living in a time in which Juneteenth is bringing about an awakening,” said National Juneteenth Celebration Foundation founder and local activist Ben Haith, also known as “Boston Ben,” before organizers raised the Juneteenth flag he created in 1997 at the historic Dillaway-Thomas House.

Attendees gathered for the holiday celebrations at the Dillaway-Thomas House — one of the oldest-building in Roxbury and a Revolutionary War headquarters — at noon before marching in a parade to the National Center of Afro-American Artists for the observance.

Speakers during the events emphasized the importance of remembering Boston’s Black history during the holiday, which commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Texas were informed of their freedom over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

Boston has a “special significance in the conversation,” Mayor Michelle Wu said, as a symbol of the American revolution and the founding of the country.

“So the way that we tell the stories here — who is included and whose lives actually count and are passed on in celebrations and commemorations — that shapes how the entire country understands where this country came from and the work that we still have to do,” Wu said.

The ceremonies included a wide-swath of community organizations and figures, with a reading of Amanda Gorman’s 2021 inaugural poem “The Hill We Climb” by Ms. Juneteenth Choice McCarty, a Mercer University sophomore and performer, and a keynote speech by Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson.

“We have to let people know the history,” said Sgt. Gerard Grimes, a reenactor with the 54th Massachusetts Regiment marching in the parade. “To teach people, to be a member of this regiment, I’m very honored.”

Like others calling on people to learn more about Black history, Grimes noted the celebrations have been a window to educate more people about the Black soldiers in the Civil War.

Boston Juneteenth Committee Chair Jumaada A-K. H. Smith noted the celebrations are run by volunteers and “a lot of love went into this thing.”

“You have to be the keepers of your culture,” said Smith. “This is history, but it also gives us an opportunity as Black people to use our minds, to educate, to celebrate — yes, of course — but also to move forward.”