Evanston celebrates Juneteenth with parade, Ingraham Park festival
The parade took off Saturday morning at Dempster Street and Dodge Avenue, featuring marchers representing Black Greek-letter organizations, Evanston Township High School, religious groups, the city of Evanston and the Jesse White Tumblers. The celebrations continued into the afternoon at Ingraham Park with live music, food and art.
The parade, organized by the nonprofit Evanston Present and Future and supported by sponsors, is the sixth celebration of its kind in Evanston. Executive Director Kemone Hendricks presented awards to people and businesses who helped shape a way for Juneteenth celebrations and reparations in Evanston.
Former 5th Ward City Councilmember and current Chair of the Evanston Reparations Committee Robin Rue Simmons received the Juneteenth Reparations Justice Award.
'We celebrate those who have made significant contributions toward healing historical wounds through advocacy, education, policy change or community empowerment,' Hendricks said. 'It highlights the ongoing pursuit of racial justice and acknowledges the importance of reparations as a step toward equity.'
'This is a form of reparations, whether you know it or not,' Simmons said in her acceptance speech, referring to Juneteenth being recognized as a national and municipal holiday. 'It's not just cash, not just a grant, but satisfaction is an area of redress which we are standing on and building on, and so this is an example of repair.'
Nationally, the politics of Juneteenth have come into question, with the Trump administration stepping back from recognizing the holiday in an official manner, according to the Associated Press. On June 19, President Donald Trump wrote on social media there are 'too many non-working holidays.'
Participants in Evanston's celebrations took a more hopeful note on Juneteenth, which became recognized as a federal holiday in 2021. ''I'm just in complete awe of what God is doing for Juneteenth, and how much it's bringing the community together and the world together, especially in this current political climate,' Hendricks said.
Chaaze Roberts, a member of the S.O.U.L. Creations, performed on djembe drums and dunduns in his traditional West African group. He said it was the group's third year performing at Juneteenth, and that each time it has gotten bigger and bigger.
S.O.U.L. stands for Spirit of Universal Love, Roberts said, and has been active in Evanston to promote arts and education, working mostly with kids.
'It's not new that things have been tried to be erased,' Roberts said, referencing the Trump administration. 'That's been going for decades — centuries, even. But we keep persevering, pushing though and everything is temporary. Even this administration is temporary. We'll keep standing strong and doing our part in keeping this alive.'
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