There was a party going on Saturday at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Aurora, as thousands came together to celebrate Juneteenth.
Juneteenth – officially celebrated on June 19 – commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. While President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863, it wasn’t until June 19, 1865, that the last enslaved African Americans were freed in Texas after the end of the Civil War.
Beginning at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, the four-hour Juneteenth Freedom and Heritage Celebration in Aurora featured a variety of activities including a dance contest, storytelling, food and craft vendors, a three-on-three basketball tournament, live entertainment and more.
City officials said that over the years, the event has drawn upwards of 6,000 people.
“Aurora co-sponsors this along with the African American Men of Unity and this is a wonderful time,” said Clayton Muhammad, the city’s chief communications and equity officer.
He noted the festival celebrating Juneteenth in Aurora has been held for 23 years, “long before this became a federal holiday.”
“The commitment has been there from organizer Rick Rodgers, the president of the African American Men of Unity, and his team to really put this in an historical context,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for the Black community, in particular, to celebrate our legitimate independence from slavery.”
Muhammad called the event “an annual reminder of where we came from and how far we have come and still need to go.”
“It’s also a summertime kick-off, if you will, and a family reunion to see people you haven’t seen during the year and a wonderful occasion to honor the Black struggle and journey in America,” he said.
Muhammad said the festival is a special one in the city.
“While there will be predominantly Blacks at the event just like other events here in Aurora might be predominantly Mexican or Indian we have those from other communities come out and that reflects our message of our ‘One Aurora’ focus and that we all have a seat at the table,” he said. “Juneteenth may be the Black voice, but that’s the beauty of Aurora that we accept and recognize everyone.
“We’re not trying to be a melting pot because we have our individual groups and characteristics,” he said. “We’re a gumbo – everything still has its own taste and flavor and all our cultural flavors.”
Hundreds packed the parking lot and were strolling among the various booths and food vendors well before the 3:30 p.m. official start of the fest.
Rodgers said that last year, the festival attracted “about 6,000 people and we’re hoping to do that or better this year.”
“Over time a lot more people have become engaged since they understand what Juneteenth is and once it became a national holiday, people started getting on board,” he said. “If they weren’t on board before now it’s resonating with them and it’s become a very diverse celebration. It’s not just a celebration of African-American independence but it’s a celebration for all Americans.”
Georgia Pryor, who said she has lived in Aurora for over 50 years, said she wanted to come to the event “because a lot of my former students might be here,” noting that she worked as a dean at East Aurora High School.
“This is an important day as we need to get the young people involved any way we can,” she said of Juneteenth. “It’s important that this is now a national holiday.”
Steve Stefani of Chicago was representing a group at the event that offers “harm reduction” services focusing on drug abuse and said Saturday’s celebration “was important to acknowledge and that it’s (Juneteenth) something that is getting more attention.”
“In terms of national marketing I get a lot of emails about it (Juneteenth) now. I’m in grad school and we all take time to be intentional and reflect on these sorts of things,” Stefani said. “I didn’t see that when I was growing up.”
Del Estrada of Winfield said it was her first visit to the Aurora event and, like Rodgers, said Juneteenth was “something for everybody.”
“It’s everybody’s equal and we all want to be free and prosper. We all want a good education for our kids,” she said. “That’s the whole idea of all these holidays – to have different nationalities and to learn from everybody.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
