Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant in Milwaukee, kids 'open up'
The Brief
The Northcott Neighborhood House presented its Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant.
The event aims to "showcase the best of the city's African American youth."
Milwaukee is home to the nation's longest-running Juneteenth celebration.
MILWAUKEE - Juneteenth is still two weeks away, but Milwaukee has already begun celebrating.
Local perspective
The Northcott Neighborhood House on Saturday presented its Scholarship Pageant. The event, held at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center near 17th and Vliet, aims to "showcase the best of the city's African American youth," crowning a Miss Juneteenth, Mister Juneteenth, Little Miss Juneteenth and/or Mister Juneteenth Jr.
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"Our kids have an opportunity to let the world see who they are. It takes a lot to get on stage, to open up, to do a poem, to do a dance," said Tony Kearney, Northcott's executive director. "They've got to let you know who they are as they're doing this – there's no hiding – and that's extremely important. It makes me very proud of them."
The backstory
Milwaukee is home to the nation's longest-running Juneteenth celebration, having held its first in 1971.
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Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. On June 19, 1865, soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas with news that the Civil War was over. The holiday observes the date "the people of Texas were informed all slaves are free."
In 2021, after decades of lobbying, Juneteenth became a federal holiday.
The Source
FOX6 News attended Saturday's pageant and gathered information from organizers for this report.
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