|
 The morning stared with a march from the AME
church to the fairgrounds, followed by some brief words from Jessica
Jackson on the importance of the holiday. Quentin Brackenridge led
the crowd in a performance of the holiday’s anthem, “Lift Every
Voice and Sing.”
For the rest of the day, there were various speakers and
performances. A number of small, African-American owned businesses
from around central Illinois set up tables. Several people brought
grills and shared food.
But beyond all of that, it was a day for celebration. Juneteenth -
also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day, or
Emancipation Day - is a holiday celebrating the emancipation of
those who had been enslaved in the United States.
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The holiday came about with the liberation of the last slaves in the United
States in Texas, and commemorates the day that Union army general Gordon Granger
gave federal orders in Galveston, Texas, proclaiming that all slaves in Texas
were free. This was nearly two-and-half years after the Emancipation
Proclamation.
What makes this year’s celebration all the more important is that both the state
of Illinois and the federal government recently recognized Juneteenth as
official government holidays.
[Derek Hurley] |
