November 07, 2024
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Plano comes together during third annual Juneteenth celebration

Held Saturday at Emily G. Johns School

Yorkville’s step team preforms during the Juneteenth celebration on Saturday June 17, 2023 held at Emily G. Johns School in Plano.

Yorkville’s step team preforms during the Juneteenth celebration on Saturday June 17, 2023 held at Emily G. Johns School in Plano. (David Toney for Shaw Local/David Toney)

Family members Dymond, 7, Jasmine, Karia, Malaika Bryan, 16, and Paul Rollins hold A Pan-African flag and pose in front of a Juneteenth backdrop at the entrance of the 3rd annual Juneteenth celebration held in Plano at Emily G. Johns School on Saturday June 17, 2023.

Family members Dymond, 7, Jasmine, Karia, Malaika Bryan, 16, and Paul Rollins hold A Pan-African flag and pose in front of a Juneteenth backdrop at the entrance of the 3rd annual Juneteenth celebration held in Plano at Emily G. Johns School on Saturday June 17, 2023. (David Toney for Shaw Local/David Toney)

Juneteenth commemorates the day when the last enslaved people in the country were informed of their freedom. On June 19, 1865, Union Army General Gordon Granger declared freedom for those enslaved in Texas, enforcing President Abraham Lincoln’s Jan. 1, 1863, Emancipation Proclamation.

RaeLynn Galloway from DeKalb watches her sister and others preform from the Yorkville’s step team during the Juneteenth celebration on Saturday June 17, 2023 held at Emily G. Johns School in Plano.

RaeLynn Galloway from DeKalb watches her sister and others perform from Yorkville’s step team during the Juneteenth celebration on Saturday June 17, 2023 held at Emily G. Johns School in Plano. (David Toney for Shaw Local/David Toney)

In February 2021, Plano made history by becoming the first community in Illinois to adopt Juneteenth as an official holiday. Later that year, Juneteenth became a state and federal holiday.

Kennedy Small along with her dad Brian is all smiles after Kennedy received a check for $150 and a dell computer at the Juneteenth celebration held at Emily G. Johns School in Plano on June 17, 2023

Kennedy Small along with her dad Brian is all smiles after Kennedy received a check for $150 and a dell computer at the Juneteenth celebration held at Emily G. Johns School in Plano on June 17, 2023 (David Toney for Shaw Local/David Toney)