December 18, 2024
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Plano to host fourth annual Juneteenth celebration

Will take place at noon June 15 at Emily G. Johns School, 430 Mitchell Drive, Plano

By Eric Schelkopf
Shakeira Galloway of DeKalb recites a poem as her friends, family and other community members in attendance listen at the 3rd annual Juneteenth celebration held in Plano at Emily G. Johns School on Saturday June 17, 2023.

Shakeira Galloway of DeKalb recites a poem as her friends, family and other community members in attendance listen at 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)

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. 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.

Plano’s fourth annual Juneteenth celebration will take place at noon June 15 at Emily G. Johns School, 430 Mitchell Drive, Plano. Plano 2nd Ward Alderman Jamal Williams, who organizes the event, views it as a way to bring the community together.

“This event is not just an African American event,” he said. “It’s historic in nature because Plano is the only city in the state of Illinois that can celebrate being the first to recognize it. And we also want to celebrate those who have been marginalized for a long period of time. This celebration is for all of us to come together and recognize history in the city of Plano.”

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)

Last year, an estimated 450-500 people attended the event. The number of people attending the Juneteenth celebration continues to grow each year.

“We had a better than expected turnout last year,” Williams said. “The word has gotten out outside of Plano. We’ve had visitors come from as far away as Chicago.”

General admission tickets to the Juneteenth celebration are free. Tickets are available at eventeny.com.

Plano’s fourth annual Juneteenth celebration will take place at noon June 15 at Emily G. Johns School, 430 Mitchell Drive, Plano

Plano’s fourth annual Juneteenth celebration will take place at noon June 15 at Emily G. Johns School, 430 Mitchell Drive, Plano (Provided by Jamal Williams)

For the second year, the 2.2-mile Opal Lee March will take place from Plano City Hall at 17 E. Main St. to the festival site. The march recognizes the efforts of Texas native Opal Lee, who would campaign for decades to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.

She promoted the idea by leading 2.5 mile walks each year, representing the 2.5 years it took for news of the Emancipation Proclamation to reach Texas.

Registration starts at 10 a.m. and the march will take place at 11 a.m. Information about how to register is at the event’s Facebook page.

Williams hopes that at least 100 people will participate in the event.

Family members Sofia, 5 years old, Silas, 8 years old along with Sayla, 2 years old, and mom Samantha Wood walk enter the festivities ground of the Juneteenth celebration held at Emily G. Johns school in Plano on Saturday June 17, 2023.

Family members Sofia, 5 years old, Silas, 8 years old along with Sayla, 2 years old, and mom Samantha Wood walk enter the festivities ground of the Juneteenth celebration held at Emily G. Johns school in Plano on Saturday June 17, 2023. (David Toney for Shaw Local/David Toney)

A choir will open the event at noon with the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” just one of many activities that will take place. The event also will feature a return performance by the Yorkville Stepping Foxes, which will take the stage at 1 p.m.

Former Plano High School student Shakira Galloway, who delivered the spoken word piece “America’s Chokehold” last year, will deliver another spoken word piece this year at 3 p.m.

Chicago blues band The Hurricane Project will perform at 4 p.m. and the E-Minor R&B band will perform at 6 p.m.

The day will conclude with a fireworks show which is set to start at dusk.

Williams hopes the event will remind people of the need to be respectful of each other.

“Not matter what color you are or what your religion is or what political views you have, we’re still neighbors,” he said. “And we have a duty and responsibility to be good stewards of each other.”

More information is available at the event’s website, juneteenthplanoil.com.