Kate D’Avignon
The Village of Forest Park officially kicked off Juneteenth when local officials and residents hoisted the Juneteenth flag on June 1 during the annual commemoration ceremony.
Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19, is a federal holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. It recognizes the specific day in 1865 when, about two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce to enslaved Africans and African Americans that the Civil War had ended and they were free.
“We’re getting ready to celebrate the 250th year of the United States of America, but of course, the transatlantic slave trade predated the founding of our country,” said Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins, a Galveston native, during the June 1 flag raising. “We’re here to celebrate the progress that was made when the country decided to do the right thing and that humans would not be treated as chattel labor.”
Other speakers at the event emphasized the need for ongoing efforts for equality.
“Juneteenth has never been about pretending everything worked out because it didn’t. When enslaved people in Texas learned that they were free in 1865, they weren’t handed land, wealth or protection. They were handed freedom and left to figure out what to do with it,” said Monique Cotton-Yancy, a District 91 school board member. “And what did they do? They built anyway, they gathered anyway, they celebrated anyway. That’s the part of Juneteenth that doesn’t get talked about enough, not just the freedom, but the rebuilding. If we’re being honest, that part still feels familiar. We’re still rebuilding.”
Roman Billups, a student at Proviso Math and Science Academy, explained why he was inspired by the resilience of enslaved people in fighting for a better future.
“Juneteenth is a day that shows the greatness and importance of African American integration in our society,” Billups said. “In a country that’s been so heavily divided, it’s important to have representation for all communities in America, especially for African Americans who have, for years and centuries, been mishandled and poorly treated by our American government and systems around us.”
Juneteenth pool party
The annual Juneteenth pool party, started by Hoskins in 2009, will be held at the Park District of Forest Park’s aquatic center on Saturday, June 13, from 7 to 10 p.m.