La Grange Juneteenth event features recollections of cousin of Emmett Till
The 75 or so people who gathered June 19 for the annual Juneteenth commemoration in La Grange had a chance to hear the Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr. tell of some personal history.
'My story's not a pleasant story and it's not a pretty story, but it's history,' said Parker, the keynote speaker at the event at The Corral at Lyons Township High School South Campus.
Parker grew up in nearby Summit and was the cousin of Emmett Till, who was murdered by Southern racists in Mississippi in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman. He described the night Till was abducted and murdered, taken from their grandfather's house in the middle of the night.
'That was the last time we saw Emmett alive,' Parker said.
Juneteenth, now a state and federal holiday, celebrates the day in 1865 that Union General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, with 2,000 troops and issued General Order No. 3, informing enslaved Texans of their freedom.
Although President Abraham Lincoln officially freed all those held in slavery with the Jan. 1, 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, the actual end of the 'peculiar institution' didn't happen all at once.
The actual freeing of enslaved people occurred at varying times throughout the territories where slavery existed, depending on how far the Union Army had advanced.
Texas, being in what was then the far Southwest portion of the United States, was the last territory under federal command to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation.
While the original celebrations of Juneteenth took place in Galveston, the holiday spread over time until it became the eleventh federal holiday in 2021.
In La Grange, the commemoration also featured speeches from Billy 'Che' Brooks, former deputy minister of education for the Black Panther Party; Poshlyn Nicholson, of ChaseYouth; and Ramon Lacey, of Lace Up Athletics, the organizer and sponsor of the event.
'We support the community by building complete athletes for building a stronger community,' Lacey said. 'We use physical fitness, mentorship, and community service to combat things like childhood obesity and the opportunity gap. We provide community service events like this and others.'
There were poetry readings by Nicholson and students from Nazareth Academy as well as a Juneteenth trivia game involving members of the audience. Actor Corin Rogers, of 'Cooley High' had a Black history exhibit and took questions from the audience.
Nicholson was passionate in her discussion of the importance of celebrating the day.
'Juneteenth is a time of remembering what happened to our people and how we were disenfranchised,' she said. … 'Myself, I was not aware of how much Juneteenth meant to our community until about five years ago.'
Brian Waterman, superintendent of Lyons Township High School District 204, welcomed the visitors to the temporary home of the Juneteenth celebration.
'I'm really excited that LT is the host school for it, I've went to it the last couple years,' he said. It's usually at the Community Center, so we're happy to step up and host this amazing event. It's always an event that a wide variety of our community comes out to support. I think the organizers did a great job.'
Trustee Beth Augustine was among village leaders attending the event.
'It's extremely moving and I look forward to it going forward,' she said.
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Chicago Tribune
16 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
La Grange Juneteenth event features recollections of cousin of Emmett Till
The 75 or so people who gathered June 19 for the annual Juneteenth commemoration in La Grange had a chance to hear the Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr. tell of some personal history. 'My story's not a pleasant story and it's not a pretty story, but it's history,' said Parker, the keynote speaker at the event at The Corral at Lyons Township High School South Campus. Parker grew up in nearby Summit and was the cousin of Emmett Till, who was murdered by Southern racists in Mississippi in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman. He described the night Till was abducted and murdered, taken from their grandfather's house in the middle of the night. 'That was the last time we saw Emmett alive,' Parker said. Juneteenth, now a state and federal holiday, celebrates the day in 1865 that Union General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, with 2,000 troops and issued General Order No. 3, informing enslaved Texans of their freedom. Although President Abraham Lincoln officially freed all those held in slavery with the Jan. 1, 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, the actual end of the 'peculiar institution' didn't happen all at once. The actual freeing of enslaved people occurred at varying times throughout the territories where slavery existed, depending on how far the Union Army had advanced. Texas, being in what was then the far Southwest portion of the United States, was the last territory under federal command to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. While the original celebrations of Juneteenth took place in Galveston, the holiday spread over time until it became the eleventh federal holiday in 2021. In La Grange, the commemoration also featured speeches from Billy 'Che' Brooks, former deputy minister of education for the Black Panther Party; Poshlyn Nicholson, of ChaseYouth; and Ramon Lacey, of Lace Up Athletics, the organizer and sponsor of the event. 'We support the community by building complete athletes for building a stronger community,' Lacey said. 'We use physical fitness, mentorship, and community service to combat things like childhood obesity and the opportunity gap. We provide community service events like this and others.' There were poetry readings by Nicholson and students from Nazareth Academy as well as a Juneteenth trivia game involving members of the audience. Actor Corin Rogers, of 'Cooley High' had a Black history exhibit and took questions from the audience. Nicholson was passionate in her discussion of the importance of celebrating the day. 'Juneteenth is a time of remembering what happened to our people and how we were disenfranchised,' she said. … 'Myself, I was not aware of how much Juneteenth meant to our community until about five years ago.' Brian Waterman, superintendent of Lyons Township High School District 204, welcomed the visitors to the temporary home of the Juneteenth celebration. 'I'm really excited that LT is the host school for it, I've went to it the last couple years,' he said. It's usually at the Community Center, so we're happy to step up and host this amazing event. It's always an event that a wide variety of our community comes out to support. I think the organizers did a great job.' Trustee Beth Augustine was among village leaders attending the event. 'It's extremely moving and I look forward to it going forward,' she said.
Axios
a day ago
- Axios
How to observe Juneteenth in NWA
Juneteenth is on Thursday. It became a federal holiday in 2021 and commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier. Here's how to learn more about the holiday and celebrate in NWA. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art the Phi Alpha Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority is celebrating with kid-friendly activities and gallery talks throughout the permanent collection focusing on Black history. 11am-4pm Thursday. Free. Freedom Festival, hosted by Music Moves and The Community Cohesion Project Foundation, includes a market and live music starting at 2pm Saturday at Luther George Park in Springdale throughout the night. Free.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Fourth annual Juneteenth celebration brings resources, information to community
To Kathy Brooks, president of the Frederick County alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., the essence of Juneteenth is information. The holiday honors the last group of enslaved African Americans in the Confederacy to learn of their freedom. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on Sept. 22, 1862, which was effective Jan. 1, 1863; but word did not arrive in Galveston, Texas until June 19, 1865. "The whole idea of not having information is how we tie in our community today," Brooks said. "The purpose of this is to provide our community with information, so that nobody has to feel as though they're enslaved, if you will, or that they're just a victim of not having resources." For the past four years, the local chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. has sought to connect people with those resources through its Juneteenth Celebration and Community Day. Brooks said the annual event started with around 25 partner organizations, but has since grown to include nearly 80. Sunday marked the first time the celebration has been held at Carroll Creek Linear Park. Partner organizations at the festival were grouped into five categories — education, economic development, international awareness, physical and mental health, and social action. Organizations provided information applicable to the general public as well as information specific to the Black community, such as materials on Black maternal health and human trafficking among Black women and girls. In addition to Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., several other local chapters from the "Divine Nine" — a group of historically Black sororities and fraternities — had a presence at the event. There were also performances from spoken word artists, instrumentalists, singers and dancers. Black-owned businesses including Kuks Tribute Cuisine and Alpha Jerk Center brought food trucks to the event. "Our organization, while we are open to all, we do focus on the Black community," Brooks said. "But this is also a really great opportunity for those organizations to be able to interface with a population that they might not normally interact with." Derrick Riley of Urbana came to Sunday's event with his wife Kristen — a member of the Deltas — and their two children, 8-year-old Chandler and 6-year-old Aubrey. Riley said it was the family's first time coming to the Deltas' Juneteenth Celebration and Community Day. He said he liked the community involvement and appreciated the number of health services that were offered. Shianne Brown of Frederick said she did not realize there was a Juneteenth event going on when she brought her two children, 6-year-old Ariah and 2-year-old Zuri, out for a walk along Carroll Creek. One of the event organizers let Brown know about the festival's children's area, so they decided to stick around for a game of giant Jenga. Now that she knows about the festival, Brown said she would definitely come back in the future. She said Juneteenth is a significant occasion for her as a Black woman with two Black children. Ariah said she didn't know anything about Juneteenth, but made it clear that she still has plenty of time to learn. "I'm only in kindergarten," she said.
