Today marks the 155th anniversary of Union soldiers arriving in Galveston, Texas, with news of the end of the U.S. Civil War.

And that meant the end of slavery in America, which had been ordered two-and-a-half years earlier by President Abraham Lincoln in the Emancipation Proclamation.

This day is known as Junteenth, as well as Freedom Day and Emancipation Day.

Today in downtown Vancouver, antiracists will mark the occasion with the city's third large Black Lives Matter event of the month.

The Junteenth - Freedom March will begin at 4 p.m. at Jack Poole Plaza overlooking Coal Harbour.

From there, participants will walk south on Thurlow Street to Sunset Beach Park.

Black artists and speakers will deliver their messages on a stage at that location.

Organized by Nova Stevens and Shamika Mitchell, the event will draw attention to measures that still need to be taken to ensure true equality for Black people around the world.