Latest news with #SkokieUnited
Chicago Tribune
17-06-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Skokie celebrates Juneteenth with dance, heritage
Cultural and food booths, entertainment and an invitation to join in the dancing were part of Skokie's Juneteenth celebration held Saturday at Oakton Park. 'The turnout has been great — we're really happy about people coming to celebrate American history,' said Brian Williams, a founding member of Skokie United, whose members include mostly nonprofit and government representatives who organize the Juneteenth celebration. 'Juneteenth means Emancipation Day, Freedom Day — it's an American story that needs to be taught more,' he added. 'It's history we have to teach so we don't have to repeat it.' Roz Tillman of Skokie took the stage to lead a group of attendees in dance. 'We call ourselves the Classy Sassy Skokie Dancers,' she said. Natasha Lavallias, a Skokie resident who attended with her daughter, said she hadn't known about Juneteenth when she was growing up, but defined it as 'coming together and celebrating freedom, though there's still more to do.' Sylvia England, however, had known of Juneteenth for about the last 40 years. England, founder and executive director of the African American Museum at England Manor, and about six others were staffing a tent with cultural displays from the Waukegan museum. The museum brings in students to teach them about African-American history, she said. 'And with our history being put to the side, should I say, it's important for us to have a presence in the community. So we bring the students to the museum. You know, we're teaching them, we're showing them artifacts. 'But the whole reason why we're here in Skokie is because you want to branch out and see what people are doing across Illinois, and the country.' La Wanna Wells, chief equity officer for Niles Township High School District 219 who is leaving that role June 30, spoke about the state of equity efforts, saying DEI stories are being erased across the nation, and the average DEI director in North Shore school districts only makes it two years in their role. She said she'll become associate principal in a different school district that has an active DEI director. 'I am reminded that Juneteenth was the beginning of transforming enslaved people back to the status they deserved, which was human,' she said, before disclosing that Juneteenth, June 19, is her birthday. The audience applauded.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Juneteenth festivities planned for Glencoe, Evanston, Skokie
Juneteenth celebrations, including parades, festivals and educational opportunities, are scheduled for Evanston, Skokie and Glencoe around mid-June. Juneteenth, sometimes called Emancipation Day, officially takes place on June 19 and commemorates the day when enslaved people in Texas finally gained freedom after the Civil War. 'Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control. As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until…June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas,' according to the National Museum of African American History. Juneteenth was recognized as a federal holiday in 2021. North suburban celebrations are planned as follows. Skokie, June 14 Skokie's Juneteenth Celebration, organized by the group Skokie United, is scheduled for Saturday, June 14 from 1 to 5 p.m. at Oakton Park, 4701 Oakton Street, Skokie. Local acts Corey Bless and Tony Garrett will be performing. Admission and parking for the celebration are free, with food available from local Black-owned business vendors like Babito's Bites, Soul Good Coffee and Koala's Kitchen. Skokie United's President Brian Williams spoke at the June 4 Village Board meeting, accepting a proclamation read in honor of Juneteenth. 'June 19th is really historic and important because we don't always recognize African Americans in our community. We recognize cultural differences, we recognize a lot of things, but sometimes just don't point out 'Let's recognize the Black Americans in our community,'' Williams said. Evanston, June 21 Evanston's Juneteenth Parade is scheduled to step off from Dodge Avenue and Dempster Street at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 21. The parade will head north and turn east on Simpson Street and end at the Evanston Civic Center at 2100 Ridge Avenue. Local organizations, schools, nonprofits, marching groups, the Jesse White Tumblers, South Shore Drill Team and more are expected to join the parade. The festivities will continue at Ingraham Park from noon to 4 p.m. An event titled A Divine Nine Juneteenth Legacy Celebration will include art, music, culture and food. More information on Evanston's Juneteenth Parade and celebration can be found online. Glencoe, June 24 Cook County Commissioner Scott Britton's office is coordinating with Cook County Against Hate for an educational event at the Glencoe Historical Society on June 24 from 6 to 8 p.m. titled 'Juneteenth: The Quest for Freedom,' according to Britton's Deputy Chief of Staff Elizabeth Polmanski. The event will focus on former Underground Railroad stops in Cook County. With enough room for 45 attendees, the program will begin with a tour of the historical society's 'Glencoe's Black Heritage' exhibit. At 7 p.m., the program continues with a lecture from historian and author Larry McClellan, an expert on the Underground Railroad, according to Polmanski. The Glencoe Historical Society, located at 375 Park Avenue, debuted its 'Glencoe's Black Heritage' exhibit in 2022. Last year, the historical society stripped the name of Sherman Booth from the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Sherman Booth Cottage because research showed Sherman Booth had written racist real estate covenants about a century ago to prevent Blacks and Italians from buying homes in Glencoe. Booth was, among other things, the attorney of famed architect Wright. It has been renamed the Ravine Bluffs Cottage. In 2024, the society received a Leadership in History Award of Excellence from the American Association for State and Local History.
Chicago Tribune
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Juneteenth festivities planned for Glencoe, Evanston, Skokie
Juneteenth celebrations, including parades, festivals and educational opportunities, are scheduled for Evanston, Skokie and Glencoe around mid-June. Juneteenth, sometimes called Emancipation Day, officially takes place on June 19 and commemorates the day when enslaved people in Texas finally gained freedom after the Civil War. 'Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control. As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until…June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas,' according to the National Museum of African American History. Juneteenth was recognized as a federal holiday in 2021. North suburban celebrations are planned as follows. Skokie, June 14 Skokie's Juneteenth Celebration, organized by the group Skokie United, is scheduled for Saturday, June 14 from 1 to 5 p.m. at Oakton Park, 4701 Oakton Street, Skokie. Local acts Corey Bless and Tony Garrett will be performing. Admission and parking for the celebration are free, with food available from local Black-owned business vendors like Babito's Bites, Soul Good Coffee and Koala's Kitchen. Skokie United's President Brian Williams spoke at the June 4 Village Board meeting, accepting a proclamation read in honor of Juneteenth. 'June 19th is really historic and important because we don't always recognize African Americans in our community. We recognize cultural differences, we recognize a lot of things, but sometimes just don't point out 'Let's recognize the Black Americans in our community,'' Williams said. Evanston, June 21 Evanston's Juneteenth Parade is scheduled to step off from Dodge Avenue and Dempster Street at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 21. The parade will head north and turn east on Simpson Street and end at the Evanston Civic Center at 2100 Ridge Avenue. Local organizations, schools, nonprofits, marching groups, the Jesse White Tumblers, South Shore Drill Team and more are expected to join the parade. The festivities will continue at Ingraham Park from noon to 4 p.m. An event titled A Divine Nine Juneteenth Legacy Celebration will include art, music, culture and food. More information on Evanston's Juneteenth Parade and celebration can be found online. Glencoe, June 24 Cook County Commissioner Scott Britton's office is coordinating with Cook County Against Hate for an educational event at the Glencoe Historical Society on June 24 from 6 to 8 p.m. titled 'Juneteenth: The Quest for Freedom,' according to Britton's Deputy Chief of Staff Elizabeth Polmanski. The event will focus on former Underground Railroad stops in Cook County. With enough room for 45 attendees, the program will begin with a tour of the historical society's 'Glencoe's Black Heritage' exhibit. At 7 p.m., the program continues with a lecture from historian and author Larry McClellan, an expert on the Underground Railroad, according to Polmanski. The Glencoe Historical Society, located at 375 Park Avenue, debuted its 'Glencoe's Black Heritage' exhibit in 2022. Last year, the historical society stripped the name of Sherman Booth from the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Sherman Booth Cottage because research showed Sherman Booth had written racist real estate covenants about a century ago to prevent Blacks and Italians from buying homes in Glencoe. Booth was, among other things, the attorney of famed architect Wright. It has been renamed the Ravine Bluffs Cottage. In 2024, the society received a Leadership in History Award of Excellence from the American Association for State and Local History.
