Fourth annual Juneteenth celebration brings resources, information to community

Yahoo

6 hours ago

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.